


oregon humbling allegory

by penrosequartz



Series: pine needles [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged up characters, And Her Parents Still Have A Mansion, Anxiety, BUT IT'S ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL G, BillDip, Blood, Body Horror, Cute, Death, Demons, Depression, Dipper and Mabel are now 19, Everyone is older, Eye Trauma, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gay, Human Bill Cipher, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Monsters, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pacifica Hates Her Parents, Pacifica's Still Rich As Fuck, Panic Attacks, Picnic, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Resurrection, Suicide Attempt, The Mystery Shack, The Northwest Family, Underage Drinking, Violence, gap year, giant wolves, mabifica, my apologies, other cool shit like that, the underage drinking is there bc the drinking age in oregon is 21
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-09-27 20:44:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 37,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10048559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penrosequartz/pseuds/penrosequartz
Summary: Dipper and Mabel Pines keep coming back to Gravity Falls. This time, someone they knew years ago is going to tell them why. No one likes the answer.





	1. something draws me here

**Author's Note:**

> GORE WARNING: THERE'S BLOOD IN THIS.  
> Writing something pretty, but it's going to deal with some pretty heavy stuff.
> 
> I wrote this while listening to the album 'Avalon Vales'. It gives me some really nice Bill Cipher/Gravity Falls vibes - you should check it out!

_we all are stranger creatures than when we all started out as kids, culture forbids,_

_we have romantic fantasies about what dying truly is, fall off the grid..._

 

☆彡

 

“Wait,” Dipper suddenly sat up in bed, “Demons exist.”

 

“Ugh, go to bed!” His twin groaned, throwing a pillow at him from across the room.

“But Mabel, what if he’s not the only one that’s here? Shouldn’t we warn people about this stuff?” He whispered frantically.

“Dude,” she replied, “You’ve _seen_ ‘those people’. You used to think they were nuts.”

“Well,” Dipper paused, “They are. But _we’re_ not!”

 

“Dipper,” she sat up, turning towards him, “No one is gonna believe us!” Mabel leaned forward, looking at the bags under Dipper’s eyes. “You need to get some sleep, Dip-Dop.”

“We have a whole town to back us up!” Dipper exclaimed, before frowning, “Well, sort of...”

“Ah yes, because to the rest of the world, the citizens of Gravity Falls are a very credible source,” Mabel mumbled sarcastically, “C’mon, go to bed, we'll talk about this in the morning.”

 

☆彡

 

The Pines twins had taken a gap year - surprising, considering Dipper’s dedication to his studies. But Mabel had pleaded with her brother so desperately, she needed a break from all of _that,_ and eventually he agreed to drop everything for a year before they went off to university.

 

And they decided to go to the place they spent every summer.

 

Most people choose somewhere interesting to spend their gap year. Some travel around, visiting different countries. Dipper knew people going to Australia, Britain, Russia. One of Mabel’s best friends was going to France.

But those two siblings travelled on a bus out to The Middle Of Nowhere, Oregon (also known as Gravity Falls).

It was odd, them spending so much time there after everything that happened.

 

For Mabel, she needed to be there. She had always felt that there was something that needed fixing, that it was her fault, that there was something more that she could do to make everything normal.

For Dipper, it was something different, but not entirely. He still felt that there was something else that had to happen, but for some reason, he didn't feel like it was him that had to do it. It was like something was drawing him to the place, like he had to be there to witness some event. Whenever he left the place he felt disturbed, something deep in his stomach telling him that he had to _stay._

Both of them agreed that they needed to spend time there, no matter what had happened in the past.

 

This particular morning, the twins had just turned nineteen. Their party was the day before, and they were both so tired that they slept in till midday.

 

“KIDS!” Came Grunkle Stan’s shout.

“Hnng,” replied the twins.

“Come on, I let you sleep in, but if you want some money for when Ford and I leave, you gotta come and work!” Stan was yelling at them from the bottom of the stairs. Although Stan was quite old now, his voice could still carry like he held a megaphone.

 

Mabel jumped out of bed, throwing on clothes. For some reason, ever since that summer, they'd slept in the same room - even at home.

Although they were both a lot older than twelve now, and siblings (which most people found super awkward) they still got changed in the same bedroom.

Dipper looked away, glancing around the floor of his bed for some… not-too-dirty clothes to wear.

 

“Uh-uh, no,” Mabel threw a t-shirt and some jeans his way. “There's no way you're wearing those. You've been wearing the same group of clothes for like, two weeks. And you haven't washed them.”

“Ugh, fine, whatever,” Dipper pulled his pyjama shirt over his head, getting into the clean tee and pants.

“There,” Mabel grinned at him when he signaled it was okay to turn around, “We look like we're walking corpses, but at least we can be them in style.”

 

The two trudged into the bathroom, Mabel applying some makeup while Dipper brushed his teeth. Mabel’s arm reached up towards the ceiling, stretching her body, and she winced. “Shit,” she murmured.

“Split?” Dipper asked softly, and she nodded. He grabbed some fresh bandages, removing the old ones from around her torso and ribs. Most of the scabs were healing, but one had ripped open again, and the blood was beginning to seep out.

After Mabel was all patched up, they heard another shout from downstairs. “KIDS!! WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG??”

 

Both twins sighed, and headed down to work in the shop.

 

☆彡

 

“Hello everyone, I’ll be your guide for today! Please follow me as I show you some of our finest exhibits!”

 

The new guy that Soos had hired was good, smooth-talking the customers into a ‘tour’ of the Shack. Mabel thought he was pretty cute, too. But his voice had a certain twang that made her flinch - it sounded too much like _him_ for her to be comfortable.

The ‘tour’ started outside, and Dipper and Mabel followed the crowd a little way behind. Soos had asked them to make sure the new guy was doing alright.

 

Even though Soos ran the shop now, he was on a little vacation - Melody just had a baby, and Soos had to help out. So, Stan and Ford agreed to ‘sorta supervise’ while the younger Pines twins tried to make some cash.

As they were walking, the new guy paused at the base of a huge tree. “Here we have some of the tallest trees in the world.”

Mabel glanced toward Dipper, but he didn't seem to be listening to the guide. He was staring off into the woods.

 

The guide continued, “This here is a Pine Tree.”

 

Dipper’s eyes grew wide, and his whole body tensed. _‘So I was right,’_ thought Mabel, _‘He does sound too much like Bill.’_ Even thinking his name felt like a betrayal to everything she loved.

The tour guide continued, leading the crowd inside. But Dipper, knees failing, fell to the ground, a guttural yell coming from his throat. His eyes were screwed shut, he grabbed at his hair. Mabel knew the sort of things Bill had put Dipper through, because she'd been through them herself. But Bill had always favoured her brother over her - after Dipper’s body was possessed, he'd never been quite the same.

Mabel crouched down next to Dipper, rubbing circles on his back. “It’s okay, he’s not here,” she soothed, “You're safe. We're safe,” she sank deeper to the ground, tears falling from her eyes, “We're safe.”

 

☆彡

 

“Dip?” Mabel called up to their room, “Come on, we’ve got a party at Paz’s house! You can stop studying Latin for one night!”

“I’m not studying Latin, you spoon. I’m getting dressed,” Dipper ran down the stairs, grabbing his jacket off the rail.

“Finally! Let’s- Dipper, that's your nice shirt,” Mabel paused, looking him up and down.

 

Mabel was wearing one of her favourite sweaters, and jeans. Dipper also wore jeans, and a button up shirt, and a jacket.

 

“Uh… is it?” Dipper glanced down at his clothes.

“Yeaaaahhhhh,” sang Mabel, “Dipper, are you looking to meet someone tonight?”

Dipper flushed pink, “Mabel, no, I don't, you know, no!”

“Just so you know, we're all taken. Except Paz and I,” Mabel grinned, then suddenly her face went blank. “Wait, you don't like Pacifica do you?”

“What?” Dipper laughed, “No! We're friends. Hell no. The reason I’m wearing this shirt is because Pacifica’s all fancy, y’know?”

 

“Oh, right. Of course,” Mabel gasped, “Dipper, wait, is this okay?” She looked down at her sweater.

“Mabes, it's fine. Seriously,” he scoffed, “You look great, now let's go.”

 

☆彡

 

“HEY PAZ!!” Greeted Mabel, hugging the blonde tightly, before separating. “Wait, why do you have all this stuff?”

Pacifica was holding some bags, and a ring of keys. “We're not staying here,” her face looked grim.

“Pacifica, is that them?” A feminine voice echoed from upstairs.

“We're leaving, Mother,” Pacifica called, grimacing.

“Good, and don't bring them back here. I don't understand why you-”

“Goodbye!” Pacifica slammed the door shut. “My parents came home early,” she said flatly, “So we're leaving.”

“Okay,” Grenda said excitedly, “What are we doing instead?”

“We're going for a drive,” Pacifica smirked.

 

The other four teens solemnly looked over at Dipper’s rusted old car.

 

“No, no, not in _that!”_ Pacifica exclaimed, “Sorry Pines, but I wouldn't be seen dead in that car. We're taking mine.” She twirled the key ring on her finger.

 

☆彡

 

“WOOOOO!!” Mabel let out a shout as they rounded the mountain. Pacifica’s convertible rushed over the road, following the late afternoon sun. Candy held onto the bottle of champagne with both hands, clutching it like her life depended on it.

Dipper sat squished between Candy (and the champagne) and Grenda. “Pacifica, slow down!” He said in a worried tone.

 

“Chill out, Dipper!” Grenda bellowed, “This is super fun!”

Dipper rolled his eyes.

 

When they finally arrived at the top, Pacifica parked the car and grabbed the bags. Mabel threw a picnic blanket down over the cool grass. Candy and Grenda helped to unpack all the food Pacifica brought. And Dipper sat and looked out at the setting sun.

After a couple of games of ‘Cards Against Humanity’, which they all found incredibly entertaining, Pacifica stood up and stretched, glancing around. “Alright guys, I promised my parents I’d have the car back by 8. I’m sorry, but it looks like we’re gonna have to leave,” she sounded slightly… sad?

 

Mabel was looking up at Pacifica in wonder, seeing how the light shone on her hair in the purple-pink light of dusk.

“But Pacifica, you promised us a night out!” Candy complained, pouting.

“Well, I’m sorry, but I really do have to get home,” Pacifica smiled a small smile, “C’mon, let’s go.”

 

☆彡

 

“Pacifica… slow down…” Dipper said, sounding nervous.

“Aw Dipper, I thought you were over this!” Pacifica laughed, heading back around the mountain road.

Mabel leaned forward, squinting. “No seriously Paz, stop the car. Slow down! There’s a guy there!”

“What? Oh, shit!” Pacifica braked hard, the car swerving a little. Mabel jumped out to help the man who was covered in blood, dragging himself across the road.

 

“Hey? Mister? Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?” Mabel ran over to him. He turned his head up towards her, and she saw that he was missing an eye. The blood was flowing from the wound like a river. Around the wound was blackened, and it almost looked like it had been burned.

“Sh-shooting star?” He said, confusedly, then laughed a little, shaking his head. “For once, I’m glad to see you, kid.” Then he flopped onto the ground, passing out.

Mabel stepped back a little, eyes wide. Then she stepped forward again, and poked the man’s body.

 

“What the fuck is she doing?” Pacifica whispered to Dipper. “I don’t know, but the way she’s looking at that dude… she looks really scared,” Dipper commented worriedly, “Mabel?” He called, “Is everything alright?”

Mabel suddenly stood up strong. “No- he… he needs help. We need to get him to a hospital! Come help me!”

 

“Jesus,” said Dipper, both him and Grenda rushing to help her lift the man off the ground.

“How are we gonna do this?” Asked Pacifica, “Four people won’t fit in the back, not even if he lies over your legs- OH MY GOD IS HE _MISSING_ AN _EYE?”_

 

“Uh, yeah. How about Grenda drives, she’s the… fastest,” Dipper said quickly, “Mabel and Pacifica can sit on their laps in the passenger seat, and Candy and I will sit in the back with him across us so he can lie down.”

“You want someone else to drive my car?” Pacifica asked, “And you want me to sit in someone’s lap while I let this happen?”

Mabel looked a little hurt at that, but Pacifica quickly glanced over at her, going a little pink. “Yeah, okay, whatever. Let’s go,” she rolled her eyes. The blush on Pacifica’s cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by Dipper.

 

Pacifica perched on Mabel’s knees. Grenda got in the driver’s seat, revving the car. Candy placed the man’s legs over her lap, and Dipper carefully laid the man’s head on his thighs. He tried not to stare at the missing eye, but he couldn’t help it. That was when he realised it probably shouldn’t be open to the air, and he took one of Pacifica’s _‘best teatowels!!!’_ and wrapped it over the man’s head gently.

 

“Alright, let’s go!” Mabel slung the seatbelt over both her and Pacifica, wrapping her arms around the blonde, who went an even darker shade of pink.

 

Dipper smirked. ‘ _Well, that was interesting,_ ’ he thought, ‘ _Although…_ ’ he glanced down at man covered in blood, _‘Maybe not as interesting as this guy…’_

Upon closer inspection, Dipper found that under all the matted dirt and blood, the man's hair was golden blonde, and his skin was smooth and tanned. A few freckles were splattered like stars across his cheeks.

_"Damn,"_ Dipper thought. _"Wait, what the fuck?"_ He shook his head. Where had that come from?

 

☆彡

 

Luckily, Dipper was right. Grenda was the fastest driver. 

However, she was also the most reckless, and the combination of the swerving car, the smell of blood, and... something else (was that charred skin?), made Dipper want to puke. Candy had called the hospital on the way, and the strange man had been rushed inside. There was nothing left for the group to do except sit and wait for _something_.

 

"I have to get home," Candy eventually said, "My house isn't too far from here, I'll just walk."

"I should go too," Grenda said glumly, "My mom will be mad if I don't."

"Do you guys need a car?" Pacifica asked, "Because I can drop you off, if you'd like?"

"Uh... okay, sure," Grenda smiled thankfully.

 

"One of the Pines twins, or both of them, will have to come with us," Pacifica stated, looking over at Dipper and Mabel, "So you can get Dipper's car."

"Oh, right," Dipper nodded, turning to Mabel, "I'll stay."

Mabel paused. "Okay," she smiled, hugging Dipper. She whispered something into his ear that made him frown a little.

 

"Okay, bye guys. What a weird night, right?" He smiled at them, and they left.


	2. can you see the stars in your IV bag?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk

_oh, hey,_  
_i wasn't listening, i was stung by all of us, the blind leading out the bored,_  
_and as per usual, you were skipping and laughing eyes at the bedroom door,_  
_‘don't take it so seriously, no, only time is ours, the rest - we'll just wait and see,’_  
_maybe you're right babe, maybe..._

 

☆彡

 

‘Trust no one. If he wakes up, remember that.’

Mabel’s parting words were haunting Dipper as he sat in the stark white of the hospital. Compared to the soft browns and greens of the rest of Gravity Falls, the medical facility was harsh on the eyes and altogether jarring. Dipper hated hospitals.

But Mabel hated them so much more.

Dipper had volunteered to stay because he knew how uncomfortable she felt here. After the accident, Mabel had spent a lot of time in hospital, with doctors, with psychologists and psychiatrists.

And it was Dipper’s fault. Everything bad in his life could be traced back to him - the puppets, Weirdmaggedon… and that. If Dipper had just paid closer attention, maybe he would have noticed that something was wrong!

Suddenly, a voice jolted him out of his thoughts. “Sir?”

“Huh? Yes?”

The other man wiped his forehead, “I dunno how, but by some feat of nature, your guy’s awake.”

Dipper took a deep breath. Trust no one, he repeated to himself. Trust no one.

Trust no one.

 

☆彡

 

Mabel let the cool night air flow over her head, through her hair, brushing against her scalp like water from a tap. She could feel Autumn now, its fingers twirling around the days, reminding everyone that summer never lasts forever. A pain in her chest made her miss Piedmont, made her miss her friends and family, especially since she wasn't going to see them for a year.

Her family.  
Her brother.  
‘Was Bill awake?’ she thought anxiously, ‘Did Dipper know? What was going on?’

“Mabel?” asked Pacifica.  
“Mm?” Mabel responded.  
“Stop worrying about him,” Pacifica smiled, “He'll be alright.”

“How did you know?” Mabel asked, shocked.  
“You get this expression whenever you're thinking about your brother,” Pacifica laughed, “It's like a mix of worried, exasperated, and happy.”

“Why would happy be in there?” Asked Mabel curiously.  
“You're always happy when you think about him,” Pacifica smiled.  
Mabel giggled.

“Anyway, you should be concentrating on the road, not on my micro-expressions!” Mabel cried.  
“I can't help it,” Pacifica said under her breath.  
“What was that?” Mabel asked over the rushing air.

“Oh, nothing.”

 

☆彡

 

“Pine Tree?”

 

Dipper froze. ‘No no no no no no,’ he thought, ‘It's not real, this has happened before, it's not-”

“Don't you remember me, kid? That's pretty weird, I tend to stick out.”

Dipper stepped forward, crossing his arms. His brain was screaming, but his body outwardly held its composure.  
“You gonna try and kill me again?” Dipper asked, sticking his chin out.

“Oh, look at you. You're so much older… how long was I out?” Bill’s only visible eye squinted around. His other eye was covered in gauze, and the bruises on his arms and cuts on his knuckles made the absolute picture of pain.

Dipper gritted his teeth. “Just over six years. Now, answer my question.”

“You're awfully persistent, Pine Tree-”

“DO NOT CALL ME THAT!” Dipper yelled.

Bill raised an eyebrow. “Huh. You grew some spirit while I was away.”

Dipper glared daggers at the golden-eyed demon.

Bill sighed. “Fine. I know it may be hard for your tiny human brain to comprehend, but I’m not going to try and kill you. My turn - why didn't Shooting Star leave me to die?”

“Her name is Mabel,” Dipper said quietly, “And I don't think you're in a position to call the shots here, Cipher.”

“Mmm, using the last name to give a sense of authority. I like it,” Bill smirked, licking his lips seductively, “Go ahead and interrogate me, then.”

Dipper fought the urge to roll his eyes.  
“Okay, first question: are you possessing someone?” Dipper asked, genuine curiousity sparking.

“No, no,” Bill chuckled, “This baby is mine.”

Dipper looked Bill up and down, “Well, it's an improvement from the triangle I suppose. It's certainly not the best.”

“Ah! How rude, adding insult to injury- well,” Bill sighed, glancing at himself, “Injuries.”

“So, why are you all banged up?” Dipper didn't know why he wasn't running full bolt away from the demon that destroyed his life.

Bill’s expression darkened. “It's a long story, Pines Junior,” he said sharply, “And the doctors say I need rest. I have to stay here until they clear me, but it shouldn't take too long - I heal faster than most.”

Dipper nodded, “One last question, Bill.”

“Aw, Bill? The last name thing was sexy!”

Dipper pursed his lips and frowned. “Magic?” he asked simply.

Bill’s expression was sad for a moment, and the demon shook his head just slightly. “Not currently,” Bill mumbled.

Dipper let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. “I'll come back and see how you're going… maybe,” Dipper said, “Goodnight, Bill.”

The brunet quickly left the room.

“Goodnight, Dipper,” Bill whispered, watching him go.

 

☆彡

 

“Why is he even here?” Dipper asked, sitting on his bed. Mabel sat cross legged on hers, hugging her pillow.

“I don't know,” Mabel replied blankly, her eyes glazed.

“Where are you right now?” Dipper frowned at his twin, “Because you don't even seem phased by the fact that Bill Fucking Cipher is back in town.”  
“Sorry, Dip,” Mabel sighed, “I’m just thinking.”  
“About wha-” Dipper suddenly noticed the dreamy look in her eyes, “Sorry, about who?” He smirked.

Mabel blushed. “It- it's nothing. No one. Don't worry about it,” she giggled.  
“Mabel, you gotta tell me now!” Dipper laughed.  
“Hhhh! Fine, okay. Dipper, I-” Mabel paused, taking a deep breath, “I don't think I’m… I don't think I’m straight.”

Dipper blinked.  
“Okay?” He laughed, “It doesn't matter what your sexuality is, Mabel. I still love you!” Dipper jumped over to her bed, tickling her. Mabel laughed loudly, trying to kick him off.

“Okay but, I think I might have a crush on a girl!” Mabel gushed when Dipper sat facing her. “Like, that's never happened to me before!”  
“A girl?” Dipper asked, “Give me one guess.”  
“Really?” Mabel frowned.  
“Pacifica,” Dipper grinned when he saw Mabel’s shocked expression.  
“Is it really that obvious?” Mabel asked painfully.

“Well… you were sort of staring at her the whole night. And she likes you too, I can tell,” Dipper smiled.  
“You think so?” The pure way Mabel’s eyes lit up warmed Dipper’s heart.  
“I do,” Dipper told her, “Now, it's time for bed!” He collapsed onto the mattress.

Mabel fell asleep quickly, but Dipper (for all his comforts) was feeling anxious. About Bill, sure, but possibly even more about himself. Those thoughts that he'd had in the car (before he knew that the man was Bill Cipher)... those thoughts weren't normal. What was happening to him? He was straight… right?

 

☆彡

 

“Hello… Bill,” Mabel approached the hospital bed cautiously.  
“Shooting Star!” He smiled, beckoning her closer.  
Mabel cleared her throat. “Um, so what happened to you exactly?”

Dipper leaned against the wall, arms crossed.  
“Pine Tree?” Bill asked, “Don'tcha wanna hear this, kid?”  
Dipper looked up and made eye contact with the demon, “I’m listening.”

Bill rolled his… eye. The other was still covered in gauze, but most of his bruises were already healed. He looked a lot better than the train wreck the two twins had seen yesterday.

“Okay Star, before we start - why didn't you leave me on the side of the road to die?” Bill asked suspiciously.  
“Because she's a good person!” Dipper exclaimed, throwing his hands up, “Unlike you!”

“A, I am not a person,” Bill smirked, “And B… You knew who I was, Star. You knew from the moment you heard my voice.”  
Dipper looked over at Mabel, “Wait, seriously?”

Mabel gulped, “I- yes,” she sighed, “I knew who he was, or I thought I did.”  
“Why would you _stop_ BILL CIPHER FROM DYING? WE SPENT LIKE, MONTHS TRYING TO KILL HIM!” Dipper cried in exasperation.

“Because, little bro, if he'd just turned out to be some guy, I'd never be able to live with myself knowing that I'd let a random dude die!” Mabel looked very upset.  
Dipper looked slightly angry and slightly confused. Bill smiled, watching the scene play out.

“Shall I start the tale?” Bill laughed, “Gather round, kiddos.”

Mabel took a seat in a chair next to the bed. Dipper stayed put.  
Both of them turned towards him.  
“I can hear perfectly fine from here, this room is fuckin tiny,” Dipper grumbled.

Bill sighed, sharing a look with Mabel. “Is he always like this?” Bill asked.  
“Pretty much, yeah,” Mabel grinned.

“Oh my god. No. You are not allowed to do that. Oh my god,” Dipper hit his head with his hand.

“Alrighty!" Bill began, "So, there I was, disembodied (as usual), unable to act on anything (a little more unusual), and trapped in Gravity Falls. And suddenly- zap!”

“So you were just… here? And missing an eye?” Mabel asked.  
“No, I was sent here,” Bill replied.  
“Sent by who?” Dipper dropped his hands to his sides, standing straighter.

Bill suddenly looked grim, and possibly even… scared?  
“The gods,” his eye almost imperceptibly flicked upwards.

“The gods,” Dipper said flatly, “There are gods?”  
“Of course there are, Pine Tree!” Bill chuckled, “Who do you thinks makes the storms on this tiny little planet?”  
“Uhm, the weather?” Dipper replied, “It's actually due to- nevermind. Anyway, gods or no gods, why are you back?”

Bill didn't answer, instead opting to stare at the wall.  
“Hello, Bill?” Dipper asked impatiently.  
“You know why I’m here, Pine Tree,” Bill sighed, sounding defeated.  
“Uh, no, I don't,” Dipper responded to Mabel’s quizzical look.

“You feel it. Both of you do, I think. But more so Dipper,” Bill looked his way, “You feel something telling you stay here, or to keep coming back, don't you?"

“How- yeah? I guess?” Dipper mumbled.  
“That’s the feeling that they usually get,” Bill said darkly.  
“They?” Asked Mabel.

Bill took a deep breath, settling his hands on the sheets and looking down. “When something is born, like a god or a demon, there are… certain requirements,” he said softly.

“No,” said Dipper, eyes widening a fraction in disbelief.  
“Huh?” Mabel asked, confused.  
“It determines how powerful the demon is… you Pines technically have my ‘blood’ on your hands. Two of you, especially since you're twins - it'll create one of the most powerful demons ever. The likes of which the world has only seen once before,” Bill was still staring down at the white sheets.

“You?” whispered Dipper.  
The smile fell from Bill’s face. “Yes, me,” he said sadly.  
“What are you talking about?” Mabel asked frantically.

“Human sacrifice,” Dipper said quietly, “We're human sacrifices.”

There was a sudden knock at the door.  
“Hello, I’m Doctor Jaden. I don't know how, but your injuries have already mostly healed. Are you sure you haven't take any drugs?” The man asked curiously.

“I’m sure,” Bill laughed, “Does that mean I can leave now?”  
The doctor shrugged, “I guess so. Just keep that wound covered, and book an optometrist appointment to talk about your options. And about your back, maybe you should-”

“Alright, thank you,” Bill slowly tried to get out of the bed. Dipper awkwardly stepped forward to help.  
“I'm fine!” Bill snapped, just as his knees weakened. Dipper grabbed him around the waist, helping him stay upright.  
“Well, I guess I’m still a bit fragile,” Bill sighed softly, “Thank you, Pine Tree.”  
“Put your arm over my shoulder, unless that's too painful?” Dipper asked.  
“It’s fine,” Bill responded, “Pain is hilarious, remember?”  
Dipper nearly dropped the demon on the floor.

 

☆彡

 

“So, uh… where are we actually going?” Dipper asked, having put Bill in the back of his (unbearably shitty) car.

“Oh,” Bill said, “I… I don't actually know. Up until yesterday, I was a ghost.”

Mabel leaned over and whispered something in Dipper’s ear.  
Dipper quickly pulled back, “No, no, fuck no!”  
“Come on Dipper! You've got to think of the big picture here!” Mabel said desperately.

Dipper looked back at Bill through the rear-view mirror, and found that the demon was staring at him intently.  
“You're creepy,” sighed Dipper, “But… you can come and live at the shack with us. Only until you find somewhere else to stay.”

“Sounds good,” Bill smiled, and the smile was so genuine that Dipper believed (for just a second) that everything might be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it


	3. scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There will not be forgiveness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit shorter sorry

_who will save my soul?_

_after all the things that i've done wrong?_

_i don't belong…_

_i don't belong…_

 

☆彡

 

Bill felt so many things at once that he thought he might rip apart.

First of all, he was grateful. He was actually alive again, he could touch things, feel warmth, and it had been _such_ a long time. So many, many years.

It's not like he was there at the beginning, after all. He had a birth. He even had a mother and father, a family. But they were gone now, all gone…

His brother. His sisters. All of them dying, and they chose him to be saved. They were young and reckless and there was nothing he could do.

 

But he was alive.

And he was scared. What was he going to do? He was brought back because someone wanted him here, and the two people who had thwarted him were giving him a place to rest his head.

He had to _rest_ his _head._ He needed to rest. He had a head. He was _human_.

 

Jesus.

 

There were so many other thoughts raging in him, pulsing through his blood, that he thought it could take years to sort them out.

 

☆彡

 

“Oh- uh, good morning, Bill,” Mabel said quietly, “You're up early.”

“Am I?” Asked Bill, “I thought humans got up in the morning.”

“Well, yes. But generally not until around seven… what are you doing?” Mabel walked around behind Bill, looking at the paper in front of him.

“I'm drawing, it's something I do when I’m bored,” Bill mumbled.

 

“Wow, these are incredible, Bill,” Mabel smiled, “I do watercolours sometimes, but these sketches- wait, is that…” she plucked a page off the table, “Is this me?”

 

“Oh, yeah. I've got one of Pine Tree too,” Bill ruffled around, pulling out another sheet.

“Holy shit,” Mabel whispered, “That's amazing. It looks exactly like him…”

 

“Mabel? Are you-” Dipper descended the stairs, “Oh. Hey. Uh… it's two in the morning.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, little bro. I had a craving for lucky charms,” Mabel gestured vaguely at the kitchen, “But seriously, look at this!”

She thrust the drawing in Dipper’s face.

 

“Woah,” he smiled, “Bill, did you draw this?”

“Yeah,” Bill smirked, “You like it? I could draw you again, you know… in a more interesting pose.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

 

“Ugh, dude,” Dipper rolled his eyes, taking a seat at the table while Mabel grabbed a bowl. She pulled out a box, and tipped it over… nothing came out.

 

“Wait, shit,” she pouted, “I ate all the Lucky Charms.”

She glanced around the cupboard, sighing. “Cornflakes it is,” she said sullenly.

 

Mabel finished her cereal in record time, Bill doodling something on some paper while Dipper watched.

“Okay dudes,” she said, placing her bowl in the sink, “I'm going back to bed. No killing eachother while I’m gone.”

Dipper’s scared expression and Bill’s slightly annoyed look made Mabel laugh. “It's alright, I’m joking,” she remarked, then paused, “Mostly.”

Mabel left, climbing the stairs slowly.

 

☆彡

 

After she’d gone, Bill piped up, still doodling.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Huh?” Dipper replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“To Star. She flinches sometimes, and I saw bruises earlier. What happened?”

 

Dipper gulped. “Uh… I don't know if I’m supposed to tell you-”

Dipper suddenly remembered something Mabel had said to him. _‘I’m not ashamed, and you shouldn't be either. I don't want anyone's pity, or judgement, and if they give me that I’ll just ignore it._ **_You don't have to worry about me._ ** _’_

 

“Oh, oka-” Bill began.

“Nevermind,” Dipper interrupted, “She… she was harassed. For months. And stalked. And she never told anyone. It was only when-” Dipper’s mouth was dry, and the words stuck in his throat.

“She was raped. They got the guy, he's in jail. But he won't get a very long sentence, considering. Mabel had to spend a lot of time at the hospital, talking to doctors and stuff. Some of the bruises are still there, and the cuts and stuff.”

 

Bill met Dipper's eyes, then dropped his gaze back to the page. “I didn't know,” he murmured, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Dipper said, annoyed, “Because it’s not your fault. For once, something to do with how we’re screwed up isn’t your fault.”

 

Bill stayed silent for a moment.

“Dipper, you have every right to be mad at me. I had a lot of time to think while I was… well, dead, I suppose. And I still don’t know why I did it. You’ve gotta believe me, kid, all that stuff I put you and you sister and this whole town through - I don’t have a reason, and I don’t have an excuse. I’m sorry.”

 

Dipper sighed heavily, the tiredness settling into his bones as he exhaled.

“Why are you missing an eye?” Dipper finally asked.

 

Bill pursed his lips, “I don’t think the gods-” Dipper rolled his eyes, “-have a very good idea of how humans work. They just tried to mesh my demon form and a human vessel together. My demon form only has one eye, so my human body only has one eye. My demon form had three sides, so they tried to make a human three-sided - it didn’t work out, and I got a lot of broken bones.”

“But aren’t you like, thousands of years old? Why is your…” Dipper refrained from calling it a ‘meatsuit’, “Why is your _vessel_ like, 20?”

“Demons, especially me, have incredible power and strength,” Bill said it in a way that didn’t sound like bragging (it sounded more exhausted), “Thus, I was given a body with prime physical strength.”

 

“I guess that makes sense,” Dipper nodded steadily, “What about your back? The doctor started saying something about it but you cut him off.”

Bill glared down at the pages in front of him. “Well, you know how humans have DNA?”

“Wait, you know about DNA?” Dipper asked in awe.

“Of course I fucking know about DNA,” Bill narrowed his eyes, looking at Dipper like he was an idiot.

“But you don’t know what time humans get up in the morning?” Dipper laughed.

 

“As I was saying,” Bill restarted pointedly, “Demons are just like humans in that respect. We all have unique ‘codes’ of a sort. You still with me, Pine Tree?”

“Yeah, yeah, I got you,” Dipper sighed.

“Okay, well, demon insignias (that’s the code) can be displayed as a sort of drawing-thing,” Bill scribbled something on a piece of paper in pencil, “It sorta looks like… uh, the Zodiac, I guess. But there’s more stuff, and shit.”

“Very specific,” Dipper said blankly.

 

Bill sighed. Then he stood up and quickly pulled off the long sleeved shirt (that he was borrowing from Dipper).

“W-what are you doing?” Dipper asked, looking away.

“Come here you awkward mortal,” Bill laughed, turning so that his back was facing Dipper.

The brunet slowly opened his eyes and gasped. “Holy shit.”

 

The shapes were carved into Bill’s back, deep scars, still red and inflamed.

“D-does it hurt?” Dipper asked, inspecting the symbols.

“A bit. But I don’t feel it really,” Bill turned, shrugging the shirt back on. Dipper caught a glimpse of a well toned torso before quickly extracting his eyes _away from that._

“Do you remember? Like, did you feel this happening to you, or were you just there and this had all happened?” Dipper asked, still looking away.

“I don’t remember, thankfully,” Bill sighed, “I do remember dying though. I could feel myself burning…” his eye glazed over, “But I couldn’t run anywhere, and there was no one to help me.”

Dipper looked down. “I don’t regret what I did,” he said cautiously, “You were going to kill us.”

Bill whispered something under his breath that Dipper didn’t quite catch. It sounded like ‘no lemon dew’, but common sense told Dipper that that was wrong.

“I’m not asking you to,” Bill raised his voice, “I’m thanking you. Thank you. For giving me time to realise that I was wrong.”

 

☆彡

 

“We’ll meet again,” Bill hummed to himself, “Don’t know where, don’t know when…”

He was brushing his teeth. After he’d spat and washed his hands, he slowly and carefully peeled back the gauze on his eye. Reaching for the new patch and bandage, he examined the wound a little more carefully. It was odd, and sort of off-putting, that his eye hadn’t begun to heal yet. Sure, eyes took a fuckin’ long time to regenerate, but never _this_ long. It didn’t look worse, but it certainly didn’t look any better. Had he lost one of his eyes permanently?

 

“Fuck you, Aceso,” Bill murmured just as he heard the door creak open.

“Oh- god, sorry, uh… wait, were you just cursing a goddess?” Dipper’s voice went up an octave.

Bill turned, and Dipper’s face went white. “Oh, right, sorry!” Bill exclaimed, lifting a hand to cover his wound.

“Oh no, I’m fine with gore and stuff,” Dipper said, “I just… why is it when we’re alone, you’re shirtless?”

Bill looked down. “Oh. Oops?” He shrugged.

Dipper’s face was growing red instead of white as he deliberately looked away from Bill.

 

Bill smirked, walking a little closer to Dipper. “Ah, I see,” he laughed, “Well, that’s fair.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dipper stammered, still looking away.

“Sure you don’t. But seriously, I need you to take a look at my eye, if you’re fine with ‘gore and stuff’.”

“Oh, right,” Dipper replied, cautiously glancing back at Bill. The demon dropped his hand from his eye, and Dipper peered at it. “It looks painful, but it’s not infected. What’s wrong with it?”

“It should have been _fully regenerated_ by now!” Bill exclaimed, stepping forward and grabbing Dipper’s arms and bringing them to his chest, forcing them closer together.

 

“You’re doing this on purpose now, aren’t you,” Dipper groaned.

“Yeah, just a bit,” Bill laughed, “But really it shouldn’t be taking this long. I’m scared I might not get my eye back.”

“Well, it’s not like you actually had an eye in the first place,” Dipper mumbled, wrenching his arms out of Bill’s grasp, “I have to go work. You can come help, or you can stay up here. Your choice.”

 

Bill stuck the fresh gauze over his eye, then headed down to work in the Shack. He was a human now, why not be useful? He could use the time to clear his head and start thinking of what had to happen next.


	4. what's a four letter word that you can fall in?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> my boys are slowly fallin in love oops

_i remember it now, it takes me back_  
_to when it all first started,_  
_but i’ve only got myself to blame for it and i accept that now,_  
_it’s time to let it go, go out and start again,_  
_but it’s not that easy…_

 

☆彡

 

Bill didn’t think he could take it any longer.

“Red, can you please turn that off?” He groaned, but Wendy only turned the horrible radio program up. It was a text request show, and even though Bill hadn’t left Gravity Falls in a very long time, he was sure that they had the worst music taste in the world.

“Bill Cipher, you nearly killed me. Fuck you and your radio preferences,” she replied.

“Rude,” he whispered. He tried making Wendy’s hand shatter like glass. It didn’t work.  
“Worth a shot,” Bill sighed, immediately feeling a searing pain in his eye.

“Shit!” He cried, hands flying to his face, “I’m sorry okay, who was that from? Penelope? Clementia?” He felt what seemed like a second lightning strike flow through his eye at the second name.  
“Penelope, then,” he sighed, “Sorry Penny. I’ll be nice to Red next time.”

Wendy looked at him like he was insane. She should know by now - he totally was.

Suddenly Bill’s ears pricked up. A new tune was playing on the radio; something he recognised. “Hey, Red? Can you turn that up?” He asked tentatively, half expecting another blow from the heavens.  
“Jesus, I should have known you’d be the type to like crappy old music. Sure, whatever you want,” she gestured to the radio and left the room, “I’m getting snacks.”

Bill perched on the stool carefully, humming and swaying his legs a little. “We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day…”  
“Ugh, man. You know he’s moping whenever you hear this song,” Mabel hurried into the shop, looking around busily.  
“What do you mean?” Bill asked curiously, “Also, are you looking for something?”  
“Yeah, I’m looking for one of my sketches of a sweater I was planning. I’m making ones for all of us… again. Like, a fresh start. You’ll get one too!” She smiled triumphantly as she pulled a sheet of paper out from underneath a pile of candy wrappers.

“What do you mean ‘again’?” Bill asked.  
“I mean I did it before,” Mabel rolled her eyes, “During Weirdmaggedon, I made sweaters for everyone. So, I’m making new ones. To… celebrate your second chance.”  
Bill felt a wave rush over him. She was making everyone sweaters to celebrate him not being dead? Him, a demon who tried to enslave the human race? Him, who tortured them and hurt them (for which he would never be forgiven, by them or himself)?

To celebrate his second chance?

Bill wiped his unprotected eye with his sleeve, sniffing a little. Thank goodness, Mabel didn’t seem to notice. She was rifling through the other stacks of paper on the table.

“Here you go!” She cheered, waving the paper at him. Bill looked it over.  
It was simple enough - electric blue with a yellow eye in the middle - but he loved it. He loved everything about this. He loved the Pines family.

“It’s perfect, Mabel,” he whispered, “Thank you so much.”

Even though he only had a vague idea about _why_ he was alive, he was glad he was.

 

☆彡

 

When Wendy came back from ‘getting snacks’, which took way longer than it should have, Bill’s thoughts had drifted to Dipper.

The brunet had gone into the small town to buy some things, including clothes for Bill. Bill felt a little guilty that the Pines were spending money on him, but it wasn't him that had suggested they got him some stuff to wear - it was Dipper. Apparently, Pine Tree was tried of having Bill steal his warmer clothes (what? they were comfy), and didn't like getting them back smelling like Bill.

“What _do_ I smell like?” Bill had asked, genuinely curious, “I know Shooting Star smells like sugar and glitter glue, and Northwest smells like fancy perfume and velvet. But what do I smell like?”

“How do you even know what glitter glue is?” Dipper asked, laughing.  
“I made sure to research the more recent developments in human culture. Apparently I was behind a little, even before… y’know,” Bill threw a look Dipper’s way, whose back had straightened a little.

“Well, glitter glue isn't exactly a particularly significant component of human culture,” Dipper’s voice sounded a little awkward.  
“What?” Bill asked impatiently.  
Dipper turned toward him. “I'll tell you what you, uh- smell like, if you tell me what I smell like.”

“Hm…” Bill smirked, taking an opportunity, “Mind if I engage in that weird human thing where you wrap your arms around each other like octopi?”  
“You want to hug me… and smell me,” Dipper said, deadpan, “Well, it could be worse. I’m gonna hug a demon who tried to kill me. C’mere.”

Bill lightly jumped off the table he was sitting on, standing in front of Pine Tree and wrapping his arms around his body. This clearly made Dipper a little uncomfortable- which was exactly Bill's plan. That why he was doing this. Too annoy Pine Tree. Obviously.

Dipper wrapped his arms around Bill's shoulders, and they just stood there for a second, fitting into eachother. ‘ _Maybe this is why I’m here,’_ Bill thought, _‘Maybe he needs someone.’_  
The deepest, darkest part of Bill, the one that had presided during Weirdmaggedon, whispered something from the back of his mind.

‘ _Only you would be so self-centred to think that someone **needs** you.’_

“Bill? Hey, are you alright?” Bill hadn't realised he was crying until Dipper had pulled back from the hug and wiped the tears from Bill’s face.  
Dipper very slowly, very carefully, very hesitantly, touched the back of Bill’s head, his hand going into the soft golden hair, pressing their foreheads to together.  
Somehow, this simple action felt more intimate than anything Bill could have come up with - not making out, not sex, nothing. The fact that Dipper was trusting him enough to do this felt like a gift from the gods.

“Thanks, Aphrodite,” whispered Bill, and Dipper giggled.  
“Get your head out of the gods’ asses for a second, Bill,” Dipper breathed, “It's not them, not right now. It's me.”

“ _Thanks_ , _Dipper_ ,” Bill whispered, “By the way, you smell like woodsmoke and old books. It's nice.”  
“Huh. You smell like caramel and espressos. And sort of like weird fire, like, not with wood? Like a fire just, burning. On its own,” Dipper said quickly, tripping on his words.  
“Stop talking, you dork,” Bill smiled softly.

 

☆彡

 

“Uh, hello? Cipher? I brought you some Doritos,” Wendy waved the bowl in front of Bill, shaking him from his trance.

“Huh?” Bill glanced at the bowl of cheesy triangles, “Oh, right. Doritos. I'm guessing those are for human consumption.”  
Wendy rolled her eyes.  
“Wait a sec,” she said, hints of realisation across her face, “I know this song! Ford plays it whenever he's down, ain't that right Mabel?”

“Yeah,” Mabel said grimly.  
“I’m guessing you still haven't told the oldies about him,” Wendy pointedly waved a dorito at Bill.  
“We can't figure out how!” Mabel exclaimed.  
“I could just… tell them?” Bill suggested.

Mabel looked at him incredulously. “You realise they would literally just kill you, right?” She said, like he was an idiot.  
“Well, I’m supposed to be dead anyway. Or something akin to death. If the gods actually want me alive, they'll probably just bring me back, right?” Bill explained.  
“But what if they don't?” Mabel asked worriedly.  
“Then you've got one less annoying demon in your life, and one less person hitting on your brother,” Bill mused.

“Hm, I guess that's true. We'll have to ask- wait, you're hitting on my brother?” Mabel asked curiously.  
“Well, yeah. A bit. Mostly to annoy him,” Bill laughed, “I’d probably have been hitting on you two as well, but it seems this human body doesn't… how you say, ‘swing that way’.”

Mabel exhaled, her face suddenly a lot calmer. It looked as if a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  
Bill made a mental note to ask her about that later.

Dipper made his way into the room.  
“Hey guys, I bought some milk and stuff, and Bill - here’s your clothes,” the brunet handed a bag to Bill.  
“Lucky Charms?” Mabel asked hopefully.  
“Actually, I couldn’t find any at the store,” Dipper told her apologetically, “They were all out.”  
“What is the world coming to?” Mabel asked the room, pouting.

Bill glanced inside the bag Dipper had given him. He caught a flash of different colours, but the clothes were mostly black. He reached in and pulled out a large black jumper with a hood.  
  
“What is this, Pine Tree? I’ll look like Wendy’s ‘edgy’ friend,” Bill complained.  
“Shut up, Bill. You steal my hoodies, so now you have your own. There’s a blue one in there too,” Dipper rolled his eyes.  
“I only steal your hoodies because they…” Bill trailed off.  
“What did you say, sorry?” Dipper asked, busying himself with putting away the groceries.

“Nothin’,” Bill said, but he meant something else entirely - because they remind me of you, because they make me feel safe, _because they are yours and when I wear them I am yours as well..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also i'm taking all the pictures out sorry  
> according to my gf they're hell to read on mobile


	5. it's not that simple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill being dead probably isn't a good idea?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!! i'm currently suuuuuper sick. like. ouch.  
> it's just heading into winter here in 'straya' but i have a fever and my head hurts and i wanna die.  
> but here's a chapter for y'all because i love this story SO MUCH and i hope you do too!!! please enjoy

_put away, put away, all the gods your father served today,_

_put away, put away, the old traditions, believe me when i say,_

_we don't know, we don't know, how to put back the power in our soul,_

_we don't know, we don't know, how to find what once was in our bones,_

_where we're from, there's no sun, our hometown’s in the dark,_

_where we're from, we're no one, our hometown’s in the dark…_

☆彡

 

“No, absolutely not,” Dipper stated firmly.

 

“But-” Mabel, Bill and Wendy all said in unison.

“No,” he repeated.

“But why?” Bill whined.

“Because they'll kill you, and no matter how much I may hate you, I don't want you dead. Not yet, anyway,” Dipper rolled his eyes.

 

“So cold, Pine Tree!” Bill exclaimed dramatically, “I thought we had something!”

“Well, you were wrong. We need you to explain this ‘human sacrifice’ thing, I haven't slept in days. We need your help with this - who’s gonna help if you're dead?” Dipper threw his arms in the air.

 

“Actually, he has a good point,” Wendy shrugged, “But, uh, ‘ _human sacrifice thing?’_ What?”

“Oh right,” Mabel made some weird gesture, “Apparently Dipper and I are human sacrifices or something.”

Wendy’s expression was one of alarm as Bill placed a sheet of paper on the counter and picked up a pencil.

 

“Okay, technically you're not ‘human sacrifices’,” Bill began.

“Oh, thank fuck!” Wendy exclaimed.

“As I was saying,” Bill continued grimly, “The actual name is an ‘electi’. This means you don't only have to die, but you have to rise to the very heights of heaven and then descend into the depths of hell. It's very painful, I've done it myself.”

 

“So, they still have to die?” Wendy asked flatly.

“Uh. Yeah,” Bill nodded.

“So they're human sacrifices,” Wendy elaborated, “For fuck’s sake! Why them?”

 

“Like I told Dipper and Mabel, the Pines family have my blood on their hands. For this demon, I'm guessing the electi need to be twins, and be healthy enough to survive the whole process without what we call ‘cutting off’,” Bill explained.

“Okay, wait,” Dipper interrupted, “I knew the first bit, but what's ‘ _cutting off_?’”

Bill gulped, “You don't want to know.”

 

“Mm, lovely and ominous,” Mabel frowned, “So… I’m confused. Where’s the ‘Pines Twins Death Avoidance’ part of this demonstration?”

“I’m working on it,” Bill sighed, beginning to scribble on the paper, “First we need to find the portal, or whatever is being used to create the demon.”

 

“Okay, wait wait wait,” Dipper shook his head, “First of all, Bill - you're not going anywhere near _any_ sort of portal. All due respect, but… y’know?”

Bill nodded in understanding, “Yeah, kid. I get it.”

“Second,” Dipper added, “Someone is… making a demon. That's what you're implying - a demon can't make itself if it doesn't even exist yet!”

Mabel and Wendy shared a look - who in Gravity Falls would be stupid enough to try and _create_ a demon after Weirdmaggedon?

 

Bill face darkened. “Yeah,” he looked down, “That's the second order of business. Someone is doing this _on purpose_ , and people are going to have to die-”

“People?” Mabel asked worriedly, “I thought you said it was just Dipper and I?”

“I never said that-” Bill managed to a get word in before Wendy started talking.

“Oh, so you don't care about you and Dipper dying, but you care when other people are?” Wendy cried incredulously.

 

“No, but Dipper and I know what's going on and can defend ourselves - we defeated him!” Mabel threw her hand at Bill, hitting the side of his face, “Other - sorry Bill - other people are dumb!”

 

Dipper and Bill stepped back and observed the two girls.

“You need to put yourself first! Stop worrying about this fucking town and worry about your safety for once!” Wendy’s eyes were wide.

“So,” Bill whispered to Dipper, “Red is pissed at Shooting Star because Shooting Star isn't caring enough about herself?”

“Uh, yep,” Dipper rolled his eyes, “Why are you whispering so close to my ear?”

 

Bill blew some air onto Dipper’s skin.

“Oh my god! Stop, that tickles!” Dipper pushed Bill away from the side of his face, laughing.

The two girls glared at them, speaking in unison: “Don't be gay while we're arguing!”

 

“Fuck off,” Dipper laughed, “And stop fighting - we gotta figure out what we're actually doing. We can't just fuck around.”

“Exactly, kid!” Bill slung his arm around Dipper's shoulders, “Actually, I think I might have an idea of how to get this thing rolling!”

 

☆彡

 

“Mabel, I don't know about that. It sounds a bit dangerous…” Pacifica whispered into her phone.

“Why are you being so quiet?” Mabel asked, concerned.

“My parents are in the next room,” Pacifica sighed.

“Oh,” Mabel looked down, twisting the phone cord around her finger.

 

Dipper glanced over at her from his side of the room. Mabel had this weird phone thing that she hooked up to her mobile - it was like an old fashioned phone that plugged into your phone. It was supposed to make sure your phone didn't damaged your brain if you had super long phone calls.

 

Dipper didn't know if that was true, but he'd never been a long phone call kind of guy. He always texted people, so he could edit what he said - he was scared of saying the wrong thing.

The brunet watched his sister talking softly on her bright pink phone, and pulled out his own.

 

Dipper's phone was inconspicuous - a black case, not the newest model. He always preferred to blend in instead of standing out. Mabel was the loud, glittery one.

 

He glanced at the notifications and rolled his eyes. There were loads of texts from Bill - cheesy pick-up lines, mostly. Some Facebook crap, shit, he'd forgotten to wish that guy happy birthday. “Don't forget to smile!”, a reminder that Mabel had set daily and Dipper had never taken off.

 

Wait a second.

Since when did Bill have a phone?

 

“Mabel, did you buy Bill a phone?” He asked, forgetting for a moment that his sister was, in fact, talking on one.

“Gimme a sec,” she said into the phone, “What was that?” She asked, pressing the receiver into her chest.

“Oh, sorry,” Dipper blinked, “Just… why does Bill have a phone?”

 

“Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you, Ford had a spare phone lying around. I asked him if I could give it to ‘our guest,’” she smiled.

“And you gave him my number?” Dipper asked, frowning slightly.

“Just for emergencies - is that okay?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, it's- that's fine,” Dipper replied, smile faltering just slightly as he swiped one of Bill’s texts.

Mabel went back to talking to Pacifica. Dipper could hear the slight lilt in her voice as she twisted the phone cord, a small smile on her lips. He was glad she’d finally found someone to love that _he_ could trust to do right by her.

 

Dipper scanned through Bill’s texts again, some of them making his face flush a little. ‘ _Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me right now. Who gets turned on by shitty pick up lines?’_

As Dipper googled “uncomfortable pick up lines” (it'd be entertaining, he thought), a thought crept into his mind.

He hated lying to his Grunkles about Bill, but was there really any other option? Probably not.

 

☆彡

 

**;)**

**where did you even learn that?**

**shooting star introduced me to tumblr**

**oh god**

**anyway**

**what's the worst pick up line you know?**

**the worst is that angel one**

**which one**

**ugh**

**did it hurt?**

**uh…**

**probably?**

**no you're supposed to say “did what hurt?”**

**ok? did what hurt?**

**when you fell from heaven?**

**i'm going to stick with my original answer of ‘probably’, seeing as i don't remember**

**lmao it's just like a smooth way of telling someone they look like an angel**

**oh**

**pine tree, did it hurt?**

**._.**

**“did what hurt?”**

**when i possessed you**

**FUCK. OFF.**

**lmao but seriously**

**i didn't mean to hurt you**

**and if i did i'm really sorry**

**smooth apology**

**it hurt like hell**

**but eventually the FUCKING FORK MARKS IN MY ARM HEALED**

**yeah**

**about that**

**this probably won't make sense to you yet, and i'll try and explain it to you sometime soon**

**but im not going to apologise /that/ much for everything that happened**

**because it's not my fault**

**it's someone else’s**

**how the actual fuck is it someone else's fault?**

**long story**

**i have all night**

**i'd be happy to spend the night with you ;)**

**dude**

**but you actually need to sleep pt**

**“pt”**

**your new ‘nickname’**

**._.**

**haha i need sleep too**

**now that i'm a human**

**shit right**

**sorry**

**sometimes i forget that everyone else doesnt hate sleeping lol**

**why would you hate sleeping**

**:/ i get nightmares**

**oh**

**sorry**

**that's ok they're not just about**

**/that/**

**if i had my magic i could help**

**i'm really sorry**

**i'm super useless like this, hey?**

**no, you're not**

**it's good to have you around**

**i'm gonna get a drink of water and then go to bed**

**goodnight**

**night**

☆彡

 

_‘Bill_ ,’ whispered Dipper's brain, _‘He is a demon. But maybe it's a lot more complicated than I thought. Maybe he's not all that bad. Maybe I just have to give in to this, whatever **this** is.’_

 

Dipper jumped out of bed. Mabel was fast asleep.

He descended the stairs, and could hear someone in the kitchen, hear the turning of the tap.

 

Bill’s soft golden hair shone in the yellow light from the terrible light bulb. Then, as if the demon sensed someone behind him, he turned.

 

The two boys locked eyes. Bill’s yellow-brown irises shrunk as his pupils dilated, and Dipper smirked just slightly. He took a tiny step forward, but he didn't know what he was doing. Seriously, _what was he doing?_

That was when Bill took two large steps towards Dipper and brought his hands to the brunet’s face.

 

His thumb moved just slightly over the soft skin of Dipper’s cheek, and those eyes, _god, his eyes,_ darted down to Dipper’s lips just for a second. Then their gazes met again, and Dipper knew what he was asking, and the answer was _yes, yes of course._

 

And their lips connected, and their hands fumbled, and they stumbled somewhere soft and warm, and Dipper forgot about it all for a little while.

☆彡

 

Bill hung above Dipper, lips slightly apart. His vision was so fucked up that he could count all the freckles on Pine Tree’s face, but he couldn't tell even what colour the sheets were. On his own _fucking_ bed. What was colour again?

 

Dipper's eyes were glazed over. The boy was breathing heavily, and he looked so desperate, and all of a sudden all Bill wanted to do was press him into that mattress and make him scream. Dipper would probably be down for that, too. He could do it if he wanted. He could do _whatever_ _he wanted_.

 

But even the slightest chance that Dipper _wouldn't_ be okay with that was enough to stop Bill’s train of thought. _Too fast_ , his heart beat, _too fast, too fast, too soon._

He thought of Mabel, and how someone had hurt her. And that made him angry and sad, and he had to stop thinking about that in order to _not ruin the moment._

So Bill leaned down and kissed Dipper again, then laid his head on Pine Tree’s chest, soft hair splaying over the now bare skin.

 

Dipper raked his hands through Bill’s hair.

“Jesus,” Dipper whispered, screwing his eyes up, “I should have a lot more of a problem with this than I actually do. Right?”

So much for not ruining the moment.

“What do you mean?” Bill asked softly, listening to Dipper's breathing.

 

“Like, I thought I was straight, but that's obviously not true,” Dipper began, “And you're a demon! Who tried to kill me!”

Bill didn't say anything.

Dipper continued slowly, “It’s not that simple though, is it?”

It was a question in all the ways that it wasn't one.

 

“No,” Bill sighed, “It’s not that simple.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw the song lyrics at the beginning of each chapter are sort of like prompts for me? idk i find them super helpful but they're not actually relevant to the plot line  
> however each song is spectacular and you should listen to them because they're just really great


	6. the first

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are three sides to every story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bill makes mcr references in this and i'm happy about that. hope you enjoy this chapter - things are about to get crazy, dude. buckle up.

_ and every time I build it up some more... _

_ you. _

 

☆彡

 

“Where's Dipper?” Asked Mabel, looking a little anxious as Bill tried to cook pancakes.

“He's not up yet,” Bill stated.

“No, he is, because he's not in his bed,” Mabel frowned.

“Ah,” Bill smirked, “No, he is not in  _ his _ bed.”

 

Mabel stopped.

“You're kidding,” she said, shocked.

“Nope,” Bill snickered.

“Dude, gross,” Mabel made a face.

“What’s gross?” Asked Grunkle Stan, walking into the kitchen.

“Dipper is,” said both Bill and Mabel, grinning at eachother.

 

“I don't think he's showered in a week,” Mabel added.

“Mmm, I could taste that,” Bill whispered to Mabel as she walked past him. Mabel batted him away with a laugh.

This interaction did not go unseen by Stan - although he didn't hear what was said.

He approached Bill and clapped him on the back, “Listen, I don't even know your name, but there's some things you need to know about dating Mab-”

“Lemme stop you right there, Grunkle Stan,” Mabel laughed, “We are  _ not  _ dating! And this is… Ben.”

 

_ ‘Ben?’ _ mouthed Bill,  _ ‘Really?’ _

Mabel shrugged.

“Okay Ben, well… if I ever hear that you tried something with my grand niece, just know that I got into a lot of fights in my life, and I know how to pack a punch,” Stan was actually pretty intimidating.

“Yessir,” Bill smirked, “But I think it's your grand nephew you should be worried about.”

Stan laughed, “Yeah, well, you can hit on him. God knows he needs someone.”

 

“And I don't?” Mabel asked, a little confused.

“No, you do. I just gotta be extra careful with you - you're my favourite. Don't tell Dipper,” Stan put a finger to his lips and Mabel giggled (albeit still looking conflicted).

“Nah, I’m just kidding,” Stan grinned, “I love ya both. Be careful with him,” Stan turned to Bill, “He’s very important. To all of us.”

 

Mabel paused, chewing her lip for a second.

“What is it, kid?” Asked Stan, noticing her expression.

“If I… had found someone. Metaphorically. How would you react to them… not being… a guy?” She asked hesitantly.

Stan blinked.

“Well,  _ metaphorically, _ ” Stan smiled, “I’d be very happy for you, kid.”

Mabel smiled.

 

☆彡

_ Fuck, he was an idiot. _

Dipper stared at the ceiling for a second.  He was tired.

He was really tired.

 

He left Bill’s room and headed for the kitchen.

“Hey,” greeted Mabel with raised eyebrows, “ _ Ben _ made pancakes.”

‘Ben?’ mouthed Dipper, noticing that Stan was in the room.

Mabel shrugged again, and Dipper rolled his eyes. He’d been doing that a lot lately. Rolling his eyes. Maybe it was a by-product of having a crush on a fucking demon.

 

Dipper approached Bill, eyelids drooping heavily. Paying no heed to Stan’s expression, he wrapped his arms around Bill’s waist and leaned into the demon’s back, nearly falling asleep again.

“Morning, Pines,” smirked Bill, glancing over his shoulder, “Want pancakes?”

“Sleep,” murmured Dipper, “That's what I want.”

“Nightmares again? I'm sorry I didn't wake you up…” Bill placed some pancakes onto a plate, “But here's breakfast to make up for it!” He gave Dipper a smile.

 

Bill liked to see Dipper smile.

Oh my god, Bill had a  _ crush _ on a human. That was new.

 

Dipper sat down at the breakfast table and dug into his pancakes.

“How’s your eye going, Bi-en. Ben. Sorry, my mouth is full of food,” Dipper tried to play it cool.

“I was gonna ask about that, but I didn't want to seem rude,” Stan put his plate into the sink as Bill took his own meal to the table.

“I was in an accident, it's a bit of a long story,” Bill began, “But I haven't checked on my eye yet today.”

 

Dipper nodded and Stan began to leave the kitchen, pausing slightly: “Ford probably won't have breakfast. You know what he's like.”

Dipper pursed his lips and nodded as Stan walked away.

“So, what's up with Fordsy?” Bill asked, shovelling pancakes into his mouth.

Dipper winced and Mabel looked down at the table.

Bill blinked. “Uh… okay?” He said slowly, “We’ll avoid that subject for now, then?”

“Yeah,” Mabel said, coldly fixing an eye on Bill.

 

“Sorry,” Dipper sighed, “Uh, Ford fell into a depression a-after,” he swallowed thickly.

“He disappears for weeks at a time. It’s been getting better recently, but sometimes we just don’t see him for days,” Mabel took charge of the explanation.

“Fuck, sorry...” Bill put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table, raking his fingers through his hair. He scrunched his eyes up, then suddenly released the muscles and stared confusedly at the table.

“What?” demanded Dipper.

 

Bill scrunched and released his face again, smiling slightly and pulling his phone out of his pocket. He switched the camera to see him and held it up to his face.

“Now isn’t the time to be taking selfies, Bill, we were in the middle of a-“ Dipper began complaining but stopped dead.

Bill had lifted up his eye patch to reveal a completely healed eye.

 

“No way,” whispered Mabel, “I thought you said it was permanently-“

“That’s not the thing, though, is it?” Bill cut in, “This means something else. If I got my eye back, I might be able to get my magic back too!” His voice had a manic edge.

Dipper and Mabel shared a look over the table. Okay, this could be a problem.

 

☆彡

 

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Pacifica prided herself on being unbreakable, on being this incredibly strong dam that kept everything under control. And then the twins had come along and  _ ruined _ that – Pacifica couldn’t pretend that everything was fine anymore because they just  _ saw _ everything.

And this? This was the cherry on top.

Pacifica hovered above the phone. Should I call? Is she thinking about calling me? No, of course she’s not. She has more important things to be worried about.

Ever since Mabel had told them all about Bill, Pacifica had been wondering. Wondering if maybe... Mabel would like to go out and see a movie? No, too platonic. How about we have dinner? Someplace nice? Ugh, this was  _ so hard!!! _

 

She couldn’t do it.

Every time Pacifica wanted to just walk away from it all, to turn into that cold woman that destiny seemed to want her to become, Mabel was there.

Of course, Mabel would be the one that destiny just backed away from. She was a ray of sunshine in the middle of winter. Fate would probably look at her and go: ‘Oh, man. I can’t do anything bad to her.’

That wasn’t what happened though, was it? God, Mabel had the worst luck,  _ so much shit _ had happened to her that she didn’t even remotely deserve, and here was Pacifica saying that fate hated  _ her. _

 

Fucking hell.

Pacifica grabbed her phone and pressed ‘call.’

 

☆彡

 

“Oh, hey Paz!” Mabel answered.

“Hey Mabes, Mabel. Mabel Pines,” Pacifica internally face-palmed.

“I was actually about to call you!”

“Oh,” Pacifica’s eyes widened, “R-really?”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask-“ Pacifica crossed her fingers, “-if you wanted to come over later.”

 

Damn.

 

“Okay, sure. When?” Pacifica asked nervously.

“Whenever you like! Uh, Bill has just sort of dropped a major bomb on us, so after he explains a few things, I guess. Hang on,” Mabel’s voice became muffled, “Yo! How long is this gonna take?”

“Depends how many questions you ask,” was the response by a voice Pacifica vaguely recognised.

“How about you come over at like... one?” Mabel asked hesitantly into the receiver.

“Sure,” Pacifica smiled softly.

“Okay, cool. What were you gonna say?” Mabel asked brightly.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ll tell you when I come over,” Pacifica excused, “See you then, bye!”

 

Why had she _done_ that? This was just going to make things harder.

 

☆彡

 

“Okay, Pacifica’s coming over at one, and I’m gonna look hot, and you two are  _ not _ going to outshine my gay. Got that?” Mabel told Dipper and Bill firmly.

“Yeah, okay,” Dipper smiled.

“So you and the rich blonde are dating?” Bill asked.

“Not yet, but by 2 o’clock this afternoon we will be!” Mabel said confidently.

“Wanna make a... bet?” Bill stuck out his hand, getting a glare from Dipper.

 

Mabel considered his hand for a second, before reaching out and shaking it, “By two o’clock, we’ll be dating. If so, you buy me whatever candy I want. If not, I’ll buy you different kinds of candy so you can try them out. Done?”

“Done,” Bill smiled.

When no blue flame encircled their hands, Dipper let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It’s not that he didn’t trust Bill...

 

No, that was it. That was  _ exactly _ it.

 

“Okay, explain,” Dipper commanded.

“Mmm, a tone of authority – I like it. It’s refreshing. And sexy,” Bill licked his lips, smirking.

“Ew, gross, stop,” Mabel cringed, “Dipper said that you weren’t ‘completely at fault’ for what happened during Weirdmaggedon. Explain.”

 

“Okay,” Bill began seriously, “So you humans have a saying. ‘There are two sides to every story.’ Right?”

“I swear to god, if you explain this away as ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time,’ I’ll kill you,” Mabel rolled her eyes.

 

“No,” said Bill exasperatedly, “It’s just that I can kind of apply that to the situation. Except with three sides. There are three sides to every story. Or, I suppose, in this sense, there’d be four...” Bill trailed off.

“What the fuck are you saying?” Dipper asked, confused.

“I’m not- I’m not just ‘a demon’,” Bill started, “There’s three. It’s- Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.”

 

“I don’t follow,” Dipper leaned forward, eyebrows knitting together.

“It’s like there’s three demons inside me,” Bill explained.

“So... you have multiple personalities?” Mabel asked, cocking her head to one side.

 

“Sort of. Quite a while before Weirdmaggedon, the three - meaning me and the other two – fought over control, and somehow Purgatory came out on top. He’s an asshole.”

“Funny,” Dipper smiled, “You and him don’t seem that different.”

Bill frowned, “Well, thanks for that. Sharing the same vessel for thousands of years must make us all a little bit similar.”

 

“Wait, wait up. Are you telling me that you’re the... the  _ heaven _ one?” Mabel laughed.

Bill looked scandalised, “ _ Fuck _ no! No. Absolutely not. Heaven is  _ such _ a killjoy, dude. And not in the cool emo music sense.”

Dipper looked confused, but Mabel smiled, understand the reference.

 

“So you’re... Hell, then?” Dipper asked.

“Yeah,” Bill threw a glance at Dipper, “It’s really quite pleasant, except for the smell.”

Mabel punched Bill’s arm, laughing, “Stop! He doesn’t get it!”

Dipper gazed at them, “Okay, well, what you’re saying is that... Purgatory was the one who caused Weirdmaggedon.”

 

“On the money, P.T.,” giggled Bill.

“Stop laughing, Jesus Christ,” Dipper ran his hands down his face, “How did you get control?”

“No idea,” Bill shrugged, “I woke up in control. No fight, for once. Thank god.”

“Okay, two questions from that,” Dipper narrowed his eyes, “First, why would ‘the gods’ want  _ you _ in control; second, how many times have each of you been in control?”

“Well, the gods would want me in control because I’m the best,” Bill’s face lit up splendidly.

 

Dipper rolled his eyes – again!

“But really, it makes sense. Heaven wouldn’t have co-operated with you two, Purgatory would’ve tried to kill you both. l’m  _ obviously _ the best choice!” He laughed.

“But wouldn’t Heaven be the best? Isn’t he the good one?” Mabel asked.

“Heaven is no more the  _ good _ one than I’m the  _ bad _ one. Purgatory is obviously the worst out of all three of us. If Heaven is anything, he’s the  _ boring _ one!” Bill sounded like a scarily-smiling television presenter.

Dipper stared at Mabel blankly, then back to Bill.

“I have so many questions,” he whispered.

 

☆彡

 

“Holy shit! It’s almost one!” Mabel jumped out of her seat, shoving the rest of her lunch into her mouth.

“Uh... yeah? Pacifica’s coming soon. So?” Bill asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well she can’t see me like this!” Mabel exclaimed, gesturing to her sweater covered in food stains, her hair unbrushed, and her face... which looked fine to Dipper, honestly. He didn’t know what she was freaking out about.

 

“Ah,” said Bill, “I see what you mean. Got an outfit picked out?”

“Yeah? Two? Can you come help please?” Mabel looked at him pleadingly.

Bill got up from the table and followed Mabel up the stairs.

“What’s even  _ happening  _ right now?” Dipper asked the back of Bill’s head.

“I’ve got an eye for style, Pine Tree – I make Hell look sexy,” Bill cackled.

Soon enough, Mabel had showered, dressed, applied makeup, allowed Bill to apply makeup on her (surprisingly), and was ready to answer the door whenever Pacifica knocked.

 

When the sharp hollow sound echoed through the house, Mabel straightened her top, brushed her jeans down, and opened the door.

“Uh… hey, kid. You goin’ somewhere fancy?” Stan stood on the doorstep, plastic bags in hand. Mabel’s face fell.

“No, I’m waiting for someone to get here… what did you get?” She asked, peering into the bags as Stan entered the house.

“I just got some milk and stuff… and some news…” Stan looked grim. Bill and Dipper glanced at eachother anxiously.

“Lucky charms?” Mabel asked hopefully, seemingly not hearing the last part.

“Kids, there was an accident. The road was blocked off, I don’t know exactly what happened, but I heard someone say something about a teenage girl.” Stan stared at the floor.

 

“W-what do you mean?” Mabel asked, white-faced, “Who?”

Dipper pulled out his phone, immediately calling Pacifica. It rang a few times, but went to voicemail. He gulped.

“Stay calm, the accident is probably a tourist. Whoever it is, they’re probably not even dead, probably just injured. Right? Don’t freak out,” Dipper laughed, visibly freaking out.

 

“Hey,” said Bill, grabbing Dipper’s shoulders and turning his body, “Chill-” 

Suddenly Bill shouted, grabbing his wrist and falling to his knees in pain.

“Shit! Are you okay?” Mabel knelt down next to him.

 

“Whoever it is isn’t dead, they’re fine,” Dipper said, still panicked. Stan looked on in confusion.

“No,” Bill said darkly, “They’re dead. Trust me.” The demon lifted his hand away from his arm, revealing a dark ring around his wrist, encircling it like a bracelet on his skin.

  
And’s that’s when there was another knock on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave comments and kudos! this fic is my baby and i love it a lot, so knowing your opinion on it is really great!  
> also this chapter is basically unedited sorry idk


	7. an attack and an honest (?) man (???)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay there's a smidge of gore in this. just a little.

_everyone's a passenger tonight,_  
_just another accidental on the freeway of this life,_  
_we'll drive on, and on, and on, and on,_  
_we'll drive on, and on, and-_ _  
i'll remember this night when you're gone…_

 

☆彡

 

“Pacifica?” He heard Mabel’s voice, “Oh, thank god.”

 

Dipper exhaled, sinking to the floor beside Bill. The demon was staring at his wrist, marvelling at the thin, even, black line.

“What is it?” Dipper asked.

“I’m not really sure,” Bill admitted, “But it’s beautiful. It signifies a death though, I know that.”

“How can you tell? Why is it there? Does it hurt?” The questions flowed from Dipper’s mouth. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, there was a demon right there and he had so many questions-

“Woah, P.T. Calm down,” Bill laughed, “I can just… feel it. I just _know_. I don’t know why it’s there… but it’s possible that this has something to do with that creating-a-demon issue we talked about. And, yeah, it hurt - not anymore though.”

 

“Kids, I got no idea what the heck is going on, but I’m gonna go check on my brother… I’m glad Pacifica’s okay. I’ll see you all later,” Stan punched the code into the vending machine and descended the stairs.

 

Mabel lead Pacifica into the room. The blonde stood in front of Bill, glaring at him.

“Hello, Cipher,” she said distastefully.

“Oh man,” Bill put his head in his hands.

“Of course, I’m mad at you for what you did to my friends. And my town. And my life. And I don’t know how these two-” she gestured to Dipper and Mabel, “Can give you a second chance after what you did. But Weirdmaggedon brought me out of my gold-encrusted shell. So… thanks?”

 

“Uh,” Bill responded eloquently, “Ok. Wasn’t really expecting that, but okay.”

“That doesn’t mean I forgive you. Or am giving you a second chance. But I trust these two, so I’ll tolerate your existence for the time being,” Pacifica informed him.

“Alright, kid. You’re late, by the way. It’s… well. It’s nearly two o’clock,” Bill shot Mabel a look.

“Yeah, sorry about that. There was some accident on the way… Mabel, what's up?” Pacifica caught sight of Mabel’s odd expression.

 

Mabel’s eyes darted to the clock on the wall.

 

Suddenly, she grabbed Pacifica’s hands, locking their fingers together.

“Hey, you're really pretty and great. Date me?” Mabel asked with a dazzling smile.

 

Pacifica couldn't breathe for a second.

“Uh…” she began.

Mabel’s smile dropped a fraction, and Pacifica could feel the other girl’s hands drawing away.

“Yes!” She exclaimed hurriedly, “God, yes please, oh my god.”

Mabel giggled, pulling Pacifica into a hug. Over the blonde’s shoulder, Mabel winked at Bill, who rolled his eyes, looking toward Dipper.

 

“Hey P.T., you're really pretty and great. Date me?” Bill asked in a whiny voice.

“Nuh uh,” Mabel pulled back from the hug, still holding Pacifica's hand, “You don't get to steal my line. Git ur own line.”

 

Mabel and Pacifica left the room. “Did you really mean that?” Pacifica asked, still in shock.

“What, that you're pretty and great? I can do _so_ much better than that. My brain is a giant bag of positive adjectives,” Mabel giggled.

 

Dipper stared at Bill.

“Seriously?” he asked.

Bill shrugged, “C’mon. We can't let them ‘outshine our gay.’”

 

“Okay, you literally possessed me. You tried to kill me. And now you wanna date me? Like, actually-officially-my-boyfriend-the-demon date me?” Dipper asked incredulously.

“Well yeah,” Bill nodded, “I'm a demon. Who you nearly slept with last night. And the whole possession thing?” Bill placed both arms on each side of Dipper, trapping him against the sink. He leant forward, whispering in the brunet’s ear, “I could be in you again if you want.”

 

Dipper shivered slightly, going pink, but a small smirk settled on his lips. “That's not nearly as sexy as you think, Bill,” he laughed, kissing the demon’s cheek, “I've got a few things to do today, but I swear, you're on that list somewhere. I'll see you later, I'm gonna have a shower and then do some study stuff.”

Bill pouted, letting Dipper escape his arms.

“What am I gonna do all day, kid?” Bill put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

 _‘Ha,’_ he thought, ‘ _I have hands. With skin.’_

 

“Dunno, find something to do!” Dipper gestured vaguely.

“Ugh, great,” Bill muttered under his breath.

 

☆彡

 

Dipper had certainly changed a lot - from a spectacularly awkward kid to a nerdy teen to a young man. Dipper was more confident, but he was also less confident. He was less scared, less anxious, but he was more afraid, more worried.

Bill thought the difference was that now Dipper knew that being a bit shaky, being damaged, was okay.

 

The demon suddenly registered what Dipper had said: “I've got a few things to do today, but I swear, you're on that list somewhere.”

Bill admired the kid’s sureness - it was endearing, and… sort of hot, to be honest.

Admitting that to himself felt odd. He’d watched Dipper grow up. Even past when he'd ‘died’, Bill had observed Dipper. He _was_ a ghost around Gravity Falls for years, after all.

 

The first time he'd seen the twins after Weirdmageddon was a few summers afterwards. They were both taller, but Mabel looked especially different - her hair was dyed pink, cut into a bob, and she walked differently. She seemed less open than before, but she still embraced and loved and giggled and Bill was grateful for that.

Dipper looked the same. Taller, slightly more mature, but the same - and so it went like that, every summer. Mabel went through some phases, Bill could tell from the way she dressed and the way she talked. Dipper did too, but he kept those carefully under wraps - just like with everything else.

 

Bill hung out with them a lot. They didn't know it, they probably would have tried to kill him if they could see him. But he was there.

The first time it happened, Mabel was sleeping over at Candy’s, and Stan was on yet another horrible date. Ford was in the basement.

 

Dipper sat, staring straight at the wall. Of course, he was actually staring at _Bill,_ who was hovering above Mabel's bed.

“I want to die,” Dipper had said aloud, “They would all be better off without me.”

Thankfully, Dipper made no attempt to take his own life. Bill just stared into his empty eyes, watching the grey overcome this lonely human.

 

Bill witnessed many other similar incidents, not just with Dipper, but also Mabel.

And during this whole time, he could do nothing about it.

But now, he could. If either of them ever felt like that again, he could grab a hand, or stretch an arm, just to let them know - _He was there. He could help, or be someone to talk to. He understood._

 

During the ‘ghost’ years, Purgatory had been pulling the cart - but not driving it. The monster side of Bill Cipher was like a beast, and Heaven and Hell were the drivers - they had to _share_.

Hell-Bill - no, just… _Bill._ Bill hated that. _So much._

He really couldn't deal with Heaven.

 

Bill shut his eyes, the small of his back against the metal of the sink.

Deep in the back of his mind, he could sense the other two… presences. Heaven, glowing softly, angelically, reprimanding him for not being productive - which Bill outright ignored. Purgatory was there too, asleep. Or, perhaps dormant was a better word (and that filled Bill with dread).

 

Eventually, Bill was bored.

He convinced himself that it wasn't Heaven getting to him - he was just _bored._ And he wanted to do something.

 

“Hey Dipper?” Bill called from the bottom of the stairs.

“What?” Came the brunet’s voice.

“Can I go down to the basement?” Bill asked, whinging.

 

“If you don't say anything… you know,” Dipper said, sounding weirdly off.

“You sure? I can do something else if you want,” Bill replied.

“Nah, it's cool. Stan’s probably still down there, so you can. Behave yourself around them, would you?” Dipper pleaded.

“Sure thing,” Bill giggled mysteriously, before clicking the code he'd seen Stan do earlier.

“How do _you_ know the code?” Dipper asked, poking his head down from the top of the stairs.

“I saw Stan type it,” Bill said, entering the space.

 

“Observant little shit,” Dipper breathed, slightly in annoyance and slightly in awe.

 

☆彡

 

Bill descended.

 

Wandering into the familiar underground room felt weird. The portal was mostly disassembled, bits of it lying here and there and-

 

_What the fuck?_

 

Bill cautiously took a step towards the body lying on the floor.

 

_Was… was that blood?_

 

He froze.

 

Stan was sprawled on the ground, a pool of red slowly leaking out of mostly unseen wounds (the man was laid on his stomach). Something deep and dark stirred inside Bill, the urge to rip, tear, to smell the flesh, to play with the organs- a deep, guttural laugh threatened to bubble up out of his throat.

 

Over the top of all that, a storm of panic was vibrating around in Bill’s head. If he left, if he left _right now,_ he could pretend he didn't see anything. Because a demon finding a dead man, isn't that be a little suspicious?

The twins would never trust him again. But he could prevent that.

If he just _left._

 

‘Come _ON!’_ Bill screamed at his legs in his head, ‘ _MOVE!’_

Then he saw one of Stan’s fingers twitch, and Bill’s body moved on its own - but not towards the door. Towards the man on the ground.

 

“HELP!” he yelled out, “HOLY SHIT, I NEED HELP!”

He knelt down beside Stan. “Hey, Mr. Mystery, I need you to stay with me. Okay?” Stan groaned a little.

 

Bill pulled out his phone, dialling Dipper's number.

“Yo?”

“Dipper, Stan’s here, he’s bleeding, call an ambulance _now!”_

 _“What!_ Oh my god, what happened?!”

“I DON’T KNOW, JUST CALL 911!”

 

Soon enough, Dipper, Mabel, and Pacifica were all there, helping with bandages and moving Stan slowly towards the door.

 

“No, don't do that,” Pacifica demanded, “That'll open the wounds more, do this, like this. Yeah.”

Mabel scrambled, trying her best to help.

Eventually the paramedics arrived, carrying Stan off in a stretcher. He was still alive.

 

☆彡

 

“I thought he was dead,” Bill whispered, looking down at the white linoleum floor.

 

“Well… he isn't,” Pacifica murmured.

“But I nearly...” Bill turned to her, ready to explain what had nearly happened, ready to confess - but nothing came out his mouth.

Pacifica looked into his eyes and saw the truth.

“How could you even _think_ about that?” Pacifica whispered, eyes wide with shock.

 

“There's something _inside me_ , Pacifica. Something inside me that's _working against me_. Do you know what that's like?” Bill asked emphatically.

“Yes,” she answered simply, “Yes, I do. Considerably less intense than what you're going through, though.”

Bill gave her a questioning look, and Pacifica sighed.

 

“Even though I stopped… being like my parents. No, even though I _tried so hard_ not to be like my parents, they were still in my head,” Pacifica tapped her skull, “And they still control me, no matter how hard I try.”

 

“I'm sorry,” Bill said, returning his gaze to the floor.

 

Pacifica looked around the hospital’s waiting room. She'd been here too often lately.

 

“Miss Northwest?” Said a woman walking through, looking confused. Pacifica winced.

“Uh, yeah, there's nothing wrong with me. A friend…” Pacifica trailed off.

“Ah, I see. Have a good day, Miss Northwest,” the woman smiled warmly and left.

 

“Who’s that?” Bill asked boredly.

“None of your business,” Pacifica replied, a little too sharply.

“Jesus, okay!” Bill put his hands up in defense, “Calm down.”

Pacifica tucked her legs up onto the uncomfortable plastic chair.

“She's my doctor,” Pacifica explained.

Bill frowned, “Uh… alright?”

 

“She gave me some… not so good news a few days ago,” Pacifica said grimly.

Bill stayed silent, waiting for more.

 

“I- I can't ever have kids,” Pacifica said, voice breaking slightly.

‘ _Get a hold on yourself, woman. Dating Mabel is fine, but pouring your heart out to a_ **_demon?_ ** _I don't think so,’_ Pacifica chided herself.

 

“Aw, that's alright,” Bill smiled, awkwardly patting her on the back, “Kids are a nuisance anyways.”

Pacifica grinned.

“Thanks, douchebag,” she laughed.

“Anytime,” he smirked.

 

Bill heard a small voice come from the side of the room, “Hey…”

The demon looked up, meeting Dipper's watery and red eyes.

“Hey. How is he?” Pacifica asked.

“He's stable. They said we can stay, or we can also go back home, and they'll notify us when he wakes up,” Dipper informed them both, never breaking eye contact with Bill.

 

Pacifica looked between the two. “I’ll… go see how Mabel’s going,” she hesitantly left the room.

Dipper wearily made his way over to Bill and sat, slouched, in the seat next to him.

Bill, for some reason, was feeling more exhilarated than usual. He should be _sad,_ or at least _tired._ But instead he felt _alive._

 

“So, are we staying or going?” Bill asked.

“Mabel wants to stay until he wakes up,” Dipper yawned, rubbing at his eyes.

“But?” The demon prodded, sensing another view.

“ _But,_ this week has been super tiring, super insane, and _super weird._ I’m… I don't know, _something_ to a demon. I'm not straight, I'm a human sacrifice, and now _this?_ What is this, _Supernatural?_ ” Dipper cried out, facing Bill, “I just- this sounds selfish, I know. But I just want to _go home.”_

 

“I understand,” Bill placed his hand, palm upwards, on the armrest.

Dipper slowly took it, sliding his fingers between Bill's.

“So, home?” Bill asked.

“... Yeah,” Dipper whispered, “But only if I get Mabel to come with. Otherwise I’ll stay.”

 

Bill gave Dipper a stern look, and got Dipper's puppy eyes in return.

“Oh- fine,” Bill rolled his eyes.

 

Dipper gave Bill a small smile, squeezing his hand slightly. Then he dropped the connection and went to find his sister.

 

☆彡

 

Mabel had done first aid courses. She should have been _ready_. And instead she just… stood there like an idiot.

She held Stan’s hand, resting on top of the white sheets. His fingers were rough, the back of hand covered in fine hair. His face looked so peaceful, but the rest of his body was torn up and beaten and bloody and-

 

A small hand rested on Mabel's shoulder.

The brunette looked up at Pacifica, eyes brimming with tears.

“Who- why would someone do this? How did they even get into the basement-” Suddenly Mabel’s expression transformed from confusion and sadness to shock and panic.

 

“What? What is it?” Pacifica asked, worried.

“Ford,” breathed Mabel, “Where the hell is he?”

 

☆彡

 

Mabel placed a small kiss on Stan’s forehead.

“We’ll be back soon,” she smiled softly.

 

Then she turned to the doctor.

“Don't phone the police, well deal with this-” she began.

“But he was attac-” The doctor tried to interrupt.

“He won't talk to the police anyway, trust me,” Mabel laughed, “Just give me a call when he wakes up, yeah?”

Mabel scribbled her number down in the doctor's notebook, who tried his best to look hot - he _was_ getting a girl's number, after all.

Mabel noticed this and quickly grabbed Pacifica's hand.

 

“Okay _babe,_ let's _go_ ,” she said deliberately, a final glance at the doctor's face letting her see that he was confused and a little disheartened. Oops.

She lead Pacifica out of the room and ran straight into Dipper. 

“Dip!” Mabel exclaimed, “Do you know where Ford is?”

Dipper's eyes went wide in panic: "Oh, shit."

 

☆彡

 

“Bill!” Dipper yelled, practically running into the waiting room.

 

Bill was standing on a chair looking absolutely ecstatic.

 

“Uh… what are you doing?” Dipper asked, momentarily perplexed.

“Pine Tree, look!” Bill giggled, lifting and bending one leg.

Then, he used the other leg to jump a little, bending it up too. And he fell straight on his ass.

 

“I… have no idea what the fuck that was supposed to be,” Dipper extended a hand to help Bill off the floor.

“Ouch,” Bill rubbed his butt, “Lemme try something with a little less energy involved.”

 

Pacifica and Mabel emerged, looking quizzically at the two boys.

Bill grabbed a white plastic cup and filled it from the water cooler.

“Here,” Bill smiled. He then placed it on the ground and stared intently at the cup. When he saw that nothing was happening, he rolled his eyes and began muttering a few words under his breath.

 

And with that, the cup hovered a few centimetres above the ground. Bill started chanting more firmly, and soon enough the cup was back on the ground and the water was spinning in a sphere in front of Dipper's face.

 

Bill exhaled, and the ball of water fell back down into the cup, sloshing over sides of the thin white plastic.

“So…” Dipper bent down and picked up the cup, “You’ve got your magic back?” He took a sip of the water, frowning slightly.

 

Bill raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… yeah, how does that taste?” He asked cautiously.

 

“Minty? With some… lemon? I dunno,” Dipper took another sip as Bill sat back in his chair contentedly.

“Good,” the demon smiled, “That means I’ve got plenty of juice left.”

“What does it taste like when you don’t?” Mabel asked, gesturing for her brother to give her the cup, nodding in approval after she'd tasted it.

“Like shit,” Bill chuckled, “I first noticed it when I was making coffee in the mindscape and-”

“Wait, you made coffee? As a demon?” Pacifica gave Bill a weird look.

“Of course I did, kid. I monitored people’s dreams, you don’t stay up all night doing that without a little extra push! Anyway, I was really out of it, tried to make a coffee using magic, and it tasted like dog sweat and bits of shit. It was the most disgusting thing, I swear!” Bill was laughing, and soon enough they were all smiling.

 

“So, what’s the panic about? Y’all came rushing in here looking worried as fuck,” Bill asked.

Dipper perked up, “Right, of course. When you found Stan, was there anyone else in the basement?”

“As in, someone that had attacked him? Nah, there was no one there, dude,” Bill noticed that they all seemed to look even more worried.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“It’s just… Ford was supposed to be down there. Do you think he could have gotten away? If someone had attacked him?” Mabel asked nervously.

 

Bill frowned.

“I’d completely forgotten about Sixer, honestly…” he began, “But no one could have gotten in or out through the vending machine. I was standing there the whole time, trust me.”

“Is it possible that anyone could have gotten past you?” Dipper asked.

“No, trust me. I didn’t even turn around or anything, I was standing there for a while. I only moved to ask you whether I could go down there, and even then I could still see the vending machine,” Bill saw Dipper’s expression and sighed, “Look, I know you don’t trust me. You probably think it was me that attacked Stan, even though _logically_ that doesn’t make any sense. But just… stick with me on this. No one got in or out that way after Stan went down there!”

 

“Maybe you didn’t see whoever it was when _you_ were down there. Stan was bleeding out on the floor, after all,” Pacifica pointed out, “You were probably a little distracted.”

“Don’t tell me what I was and what I wasn’t, Northwest,” Bill narrowed his eyes, “There was _no one down there._ Okay?”

 

None of them were convinced, Bill could tell. He heaved another sigh.

“Let’s just… go back home and check out the basement,” he offered, and the group left the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it! stay tuned for more!
> 
> and today I finally planned out vaguely how this story is going to end. i'm super excited/worried for the next couple of chapters - it's not what i usually write, but maybe this can be taken as practice. stay safe everyone, if you need to talk or wanna check out my horrible blog, go to  
> http://dep-op-ex-pression.tumblr.com/
> 
> EDIT: CAN I JUST SAY I WENT TO WRITE 'PACIFIC ISLANDERS' TODAY AND I ACCIDENTALLY WROTE 'PACIFICA ISLANDERS'. I'VE OFFICIALLY FALLEN INTO HELL.


	8. i'm carefully imploding and unlawfully exposing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something's... off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit shorter than usual, sorry. however, this fic has now hit 17K WORDS!!!! how crazy is that????

_hear the sound_

_the angels come screaming_

_down your voice_

_i hear you’ve been bleeding_

_make your choice_

_they say you’ve been pleading_

_someone save us_

_heaven help us now_

 

☆彡

 

Mabel and Pacifica sat in the front of the car, the brunette riding shotgun. Dipper and Bill sat in the back seat.

 

“Why are you staring at me?” Bill asked Dipper suspiciously, who quickly looked away, smiling a little.

“You didn’t say ‘the Shack,’ or anything else…” Dipper said softly, “You said ‘home.’”

“Oh,” replied Bill, “Sorry, I didn’t even realise-”

“No, no, don’t apologise,” Dipper smiled, “It was just… sort of jarring.”

“How?” Bill frowned.

“It’s a very… a very _human_ thing to do,” Dipper whispered.

 

Bill laughed a little, “ _Human._ It sounds so nostalgic, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean?” Dipper asked, slightly confused.

“It’s like, wow, remember when we were humanity? Remember when we banded together and fought against evils too dark to name?” Bill said, an odd look in his eyes, “No one thinks about humanity anymore. Sure, we’re all people. But humanity no longer exists as a whole. How weird is that?” Bill met Dipper’s eyes.

 

No one is a part of humanity anymore.

 

☆彡

 

“What are they even talking about back there?” Pacifica whispered to Mabel.

“No idea,” Mabel giggled, “Something deep, I think.”

“That’d be right,” Pacifica rolled her eyes.

 

“So…” the blonde began after a short silence, “We’re dating now.”

“Yeah,” a small smile appeared on Mabel’s face, “We are.”

“Want to… go to the movies, or dinner, or something?” Pacifica asked awkwardly.

Mabel laughed, “You sound like Dipper-”

 

“Huh?” Dipper asked from the back of the car, sticking his head between the two front seats.

“I wasn’t talking to you, you rusty spoon! Butt out,” Mabel flicked her brother’s forehead, and he flinched away.

 

“Anyway,” Mabel rolled her eyes, “Let’s go somewhere _fun!_ ”

“Uh oh,” Pacifica whispered under her breath.

“I mean, not that there’s _that_ much cool stuff to do in Gravity Falls, but we could go bowling or something?” She suggested.

“Oh. Ok,” Pacifica smiled. She’d been expecting something a little crazier, but bowling actually sounded quite fun.

 

“Bowling with two could be a little boring though… We could invite those two losers,” Mabel pointed her thumb towards Bill and Dipper, “And then ditch them later-”

Bill’s head suddenly appeared between the seats.

“I heard you were talkin’ shit,” he laughed.

“Oh my- fuck _off_ , I’m trying to talk to my girlfriend!” Mabel rolled her eyes, shoving Bill’s grinning head back.

 

“Ditch them for where?” Pacifica asked uncertainly (although she blushed slightly at Mabel’s direct use of the word ‘girlfriend’).

“A diner, maybe?” Mabel suggested, “I mean, we could go somewhere fancier, but Greasy’s is alright-”

“No, that sounds good. I’ve… I’ve actually never been,” Pacifica took a turn, smoothly guiding the wheel.

 

“You’ve never been?” Mabel exclaimed, looking towards the back of the car, “Dipper? This girl’s never been to Greasy’s!”

“Yeah, well,” Dipper scoffed, “You’re not missing out on much, honestly.”

“Excuse you!” Mabel exclaimed, looking offended, “Greasy’s does _really good fries,_ Pacifica.”

“Mhm,” Dipper smiled sarcastically, “ _Real_ good.”

 

☆彡

 

“Guys!” Called Wendy, waving them over, “Where have you been? I couldn’t find Stan or anyone!”

 

Dipper and Mabel shared a glance, gulping.

“W-what?” Wendy asked, noticing their expressions, “What happened?”

“Stan was attacked in the basement, but he’s alright!” Bill informed her cheerily. Wendy’s face dropped.

“What the _fuck?_ You guys have a _lot_ of explaining to do.”

 

☆彡

 

“Wow. Okay,” Wendy said, confusedly staring at the newspaper that happened to be on the table, “Damn.”

 

“Yeah, damn,” replied Mabel, “Half price off all summer clothes. Nice.”

“No,” Wendy shot her a look, “ _Stan. Being_ **_attacked._ ** _”_

“Oh, right,” Mabel moved her head in a weird circle, trying to catch her straw in her mouth.

“Dude, stop!” Dipper exclaimed, “We’re about to go into the basement and you’re still eating! And _stop chasing the straw,_ I can see all the food in your mouth. You’re so gross!”

 

“Sorry, noodle-bro. Just having some comfort food to prepare for the long winter nights ahead,” Mabel giggled.

“What do you mean?” Bill asked, crunching on a Dorito.

“Well. Dipper’s never going to rest until he finds Ford and figures out whoever attacked Stan,” Pacifica informed Bill, glancing sympathetically at the anxious Dipper, who was pacing the room.

“Yeah, say goodbye to all your happy after-glow cuddles, Bill,” Mabel snickered, “Dipper will-”

She was interrupted by Bill throwing a Dorito at her face.

 

They were all sitting around the kitchen table, figuring out their next move. Bill was doodling on some loose pages, and Mabel was snacking and stealing corn chips out of Bill’s bowl, who kept smacking her hand. Pacifica was elegantly perched on a chair, one leg over the other, in her immaculate pantsuit. Her hair was slightly tousled, and there was an odd disinfectant smell around her, and… well, she didn’t have a change of clothes, so there was still spots of blood on her shirt and pants. She looked like a professional killer.

Wendy was dressed in her signature outfit, which most had nicknamed ‘Rad Plaid’, and Dipper was walking around and around the table, muttering things every now and again, something forming in his brain, around and around and around…

 

Bill reached out and grabbed Dipper’s arm, wrenching the brunet towards him.

“Wha- hey!” Dipper protested as Bill forced him into his lap.

“I’d make you eat,” Bill smiled, “But we’ve all already had breakfast and lunch. I don’t know why everyone’s eating so much.”

"Stress," Mabel mumbled.

“You and Mabel aren’t everyone,” Wendy sighed, “Pacifica and I aren’t eating. You two are just stuffing your faces.”

 

Mabel and Bill shared a glance, shrugged in unison, and went back to their respective foods. The smell of Mabel’s chocolate milk was nearly inflaming Bill’s nostrils, and the salt and flavouring from the Doritos were so overpowering he had to force himself to stop eating them.

“Is it just me or is everything… like, _boom!_ ” Bill described animatedly.

“Very eloquent,” Pacifica grimaced.

“No, like, everything is ten times more…” Bill trailed off.

 

“Ten times more what?” Dipper asked curiously, still seated on Bill’s thigh, sideways.

“No, just. Ten times _more,”_ Bill attempted, flailing his arms.

“Okay, well, it’s just you,” Mabel dabbed at the corners of her mouth, putting her plate in the sink, “I actually have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Are you… feeling okay?” Dipper asked hesitantly, noticing Bill’s watery eyes.

“i feel like everything’s attacking me... “ Bill began warily, “Like, I can read that calendar over there. And those Doritos, I could taste everything in them. And I can smell Mabel’s chocolate milk and Pacifica’s perfume, and the light is really bright…” Bill rested his hair on Dipper’s shoulder as the demon’s voice cracked slightly.

“Hey… what’s up?” Dipper twisted some of Bill’s soft curls.

Mabel squinted at the calendar on the wall - she couldn’t read a word.

 

“I don’t know,” Bill murmured, frustrated, “It- it feels like-”

An image flashed in Bill’s mind, images of huge hounds with red eyes in the dark, low visibility, the wind howling in his ears, a yellow glow, the feeling of being killed **over** and **over** and **over** again-

“Hey,” Dipper’s voice brought him out of his head, the boy’s clear eyes and beautiful brown hair greeting him like returning from war.

Returning _home._ Like a _human._

Dipper’s thumb raked over the soft skin of Bill’s cheek, stroking, trying to comfort whatever nightmares were haunting him.

 

“It feels like what, Bill?” Mabel asked, her expression suddenly serious. Mabel was a lot more intelligent than she let on. In fact, all the girls at the table were staring at him as if they knew the answer he was about to give.

Only Dipper, viewing Bill with a look of gentle concern, seemed to have no idea what was coming.

 

“It feels like Purgatory is taking over my body.”

 

☆彡

 

“Shit.”

 

Dipper leant back.

“Are- can you- like, hold it back?” He asked nervously.

“Yeah,” Bill replied, “I don’t know how long that will last though.”

 

“Oh, well this is just fucking brilliant,” Pacifica threw her hands in the air.

“I can’t help it, I’m sorry…” Bill gulped, looking down at his lap - which Dipper had awkwardly vacated.

Great.

 

“It's okay,” Mabel put on a brace face, smiling at Bill, “We'll- we’ll figure it out.”

Wendy just frowned.

 

Dipper could feel Bill’s eyes burning a hole in him, and exhaled slightly when the demon turned his gaze to Wendy.

“Got something to say, Red?” He asked tiredly.

“Actually, I do,” she smiled, “I think this could be great for us.”

 

“What,” Pacifica eyed Wendy.

“Uh, yeah. What?” Mabel gave Dipper a confused look, and the boy shrugged.

“Well,” began Wendy, “We could try and use Bill’s… heightened senses or whatever, see if we can harness them.”

 

“Like… use them to our advantage?” Dipper enquired.

“Yeah,” nodded Wendy, “He could maybe track down Ford or something. Don’t the gods have a thing for you?” She looked towards Bill, who shrugged. “Maybe this is their idea of a gift, is what I’m saying,” she finished.

 

Dipper thought about this. It was an interesting idea… he glanced at Bill, who seemed to be thinking the same thing - but the demon had a look in his eyes, a look that was dark and hungry… no matter how useful these ‘powers’ may be, Dipper was still thoroughly creeped out.

 

“Yo,” Mabel called from in front of the vending machine, “Y’all ready to check it out a little more?”

“Comin’, star,” Bill sighed, throwing himself out of the chair and towards the basement.

Dipper, Wendy, and Pacifica followed in his footsteps, tired, annoyed, and a little bit scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, my poor son.  
> anyway, i didn't realise that this was where the story was going until i wrote the 'taking over my body' line and i just 
> 
> 'YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE, SHIT'
> 
> anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter!


	9. subcutaneous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something is just under the skin. Is Bill strong enough to keep Purgatory back? And, more importantly, where the hell is Ford?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all! around 5 times this many words constitutes a novel. maybe i'll be an author.
> 
> i really hope you like this chapter! i'm definitely looking forward to writing more of this!!!

_faded by, in time with the back of your bed,_

_am i that levy you break, that levy you hold,_

_paint me red, paint me red, picture that, picture that,_

_picture us and god shaking hands just because we can,_

_like DMC we run this shit, like DMC what's tricky to get we got,_

_watch me murder this, watch me murder this..._

 

☆彡

 

“I don’t see anything… weird?” Mabel peered into the darker corners of the room using her phone’s torch.

 

“What, apart from all the blood everywhere?” Pacifica shuddered, carefully looking away from the red stains.

Dipper was frowning at the huge room around him, eyes flickering from one side to the other.

“There’s something big that we’re missing…” Dipper whispered.

“Yeah,” Bill replied from behind him, making Dipper jump slightly.

“Dude, don’t sneak up on me like that,” Dipper smiled awkwardly, rubbing at his head and glancing away from the demon.

Bill looked hurt for a moment before his jaw dropped.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed, hitting himself in the face with his hand.

 

“What?” Wendy asked, turning towards the demon.

“The fucking portal!” Bill yelled, “It was here, it was lying in pieces around the place, and now it’s-”

“What do you mean it was lying in pieces?” Dipper asked suddenly.

“I mean- well what the fuck do you think I mean, Pine Tree?” Bill asked incredulously.

Mabel looked towards Dipper, confused. Dipper, however, had already put everything together in his head.

 

“Shit, fuck, shitting shit,” he breathed softly.

“Dip, I thought the portal-” Mabel tried.

“Exactly,” Dipper said to Mabel, panicked, “Why would it still be…?”

“I don’t know, but Dip, Ford and Stan…” she implored.

“They’re the only ones…” Dipper trailed off, noticing Pacifica’s raised eyebrow, and Bill and Wendy’s identical looks of confusion.

 

“Ford got rid - or at least, should have gotten rid of the portal ages ago. There shouldn’t have been _‘pieces lying around,’_ ” Dipper explained.

“Are you absolutely sure that there were bits of it, Bill?” Mabel asked.

“Yes! For god’s sake, none of you trust me,” Bill rolled his eyes, “Fuck you, Pistis.”

“Who’s Pistis?” Wendy frowned.

“Greek god of trust and reliability,” Dipper answered automatically.

 

“What?” He asked indignantly when he saw their expressions, “I find them interesting!”

“Yeah, whatever,” Pacifica flicked her hair back over her shoulder, holding her phone to the side of her neck.

“Wait, Pacifica, don't move,” Bill whispered.

Pacifica froze. “Is there a spider?” she asked.

 

“No,” Mabel smiled, “Your torch, you can move now.” Mabel shone her light on the odd groove in the wall.

Bill approached the indent, breathing deeply.

“What is it?” Dipper asked, examining whatever it was.

“I don't know,” Bill paused, “A door, maybe, but… do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” Dipper asked, sniffing the air.

“It smells like… chlorine?” Bill crouched on the ground, rubbing his fingers on the dirty floor.

 

“I don't smell anything,” Wendy shrugged.

“Yeah, well who's got enhanced senses?” Bill snapped a little too angrily.

“Dude,” Mabel raised her hands, “Chill.”

 

Bill breathed a deep breath.

“Sorry, I'm a bit on edge,” he whispered, “Let's open this baby up.”

The demon swiped his hands over the portion of wall in front of him, muttering something, listening. A perfect rectangle of wall crumbled into nothing, revealing a dusty set of stairs.

“There's footprints,” Wendy smiled slightly as Bill stepped back, already tired from the small display of magic. Dipper put a hand on Bill’s back comfortingly.

 

“Whose are they?” Pacifica asked, “Are they Ford’s?”

“Well, that wouldn't make sense,” Mabel scoffed, “Ford can't rebuild a door with magic-”

“They _are_ Ford’s… or his shoes, at least,” Dipper frowned, “That's his shoe print.”

 

“Okay, why do you even know that?” Pacifica gave Dipper a weird look.

“He's a stalker,” Bill grinned, receiving a light punch from Dipper in response.

 

☆彡

 

“Wow, I was expecting something a little more exciting…” Mabel grumbled as she clambered out of the trapdoor after Dipper.

“I think this is near where I found the journal…” Dipper mused.

“Heh, you still got that old thing?” Bill asked, cracking his back, his yellow hair shining in the tree-filtered (now late afternoon) light.

 

Dipper narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “Yeah?”

Bill rolled his shoulders, sidling up to Dipper with a predatory look in his eyes.

“Nothin, nothin. But guess what? Maybe Red’s right,” he smirked.

“Huh?” Wendy hoisted herself out of the trapdoor, following Pacifica, and dropped it shut. The forest floor hid it perfectly.

 

“Well, just that,” Bill snaked his arms around Dipper's waist, the brunet avoiding the demon’s eyes, “These powers might be very useful. I can feel the magic flowing through me.”

 

The air crackled, and suddenly Bill wasn't in front of Dipper, he was standing metres away peering at something in the trees, and then _crack!_ He snuck a kiss from Dipper's lips, _crack!_ He was crouched in the middle of the group, battle-ready, taking a huge sniff of the air.

And then the crazed edge in Bill’s eyes melted away, and the static in the air disappeared, and Bill doubled over, then rushed over to the trunk of a tree and retched, bile violently leaving his throat.

 

All Dipper's distrust snapped away, and he rushed over to the blond boy.

“Bill, hey, are you okay?” Dipper asked, concerned.

“Y-yeah, I'm fine,” Bill shuddered.

“We should go home…” Mabel suggested hesitantly.

“No!” Bill protested, wiping at his mouth with his sleeve, “I can smell something, and I don't think I can keep Purgatory back for much longer. If we want to actually use this shit, we have to use it now.”

 

“Well, stop fucking around then,” Wendy sighed, before adding, “So you're like a dog?”

Bill shot her a dirty look, “Fuck off, Red. Just because I can smell something doesn't mean I'm a dog. Does anyone have any alcohol?”

 

Mabel laughed, “Uh, off-topic, but no.”

Dipper and Wendy shared a glance, then shook their heads.

“Why?” Pacifica asked.

“I need to rinse out my mouth with something, preferably stronger than water,” Bill explained, shoving his hands in his pockets before adding, “I can't concentrate with my mouth tasting like shit.”

Pacifica sighed, digging into one of her coat pockets, and throwing Bill a small metal flask.

 

Dipper laughed, and Wendy looked at Pacifica in shock.

“Wait, can I have some first?” Mabel pleaded with Bill and Pacifica.

“Just wait your turn!” the demon reprimanded.

“I don't want your germs on my mouth!” Mabel whined.

 

“Fine,” Bill groaned, throwing the flask back to Mabel, who caught it expertly and quickly began downing the entire contents.

“Dude!” Bill exclaimed, “I thought we were bros!”

“You thought _wrong,”_ Mabel smiled evilly, content to let the flask go when Bill grabbed at it.

 

Bill laughed, shaking his head and rinsing out his mouth, spitting out some and then taking another swig.

“Purgatory is just under my skin,” Bill whispered to Dipper confidentially, his breath smelling like whiskey, “We need to be extra careful.”

Dipper nodded grimly and Bill turned to the girls.

“It’s getting dark, so we have to hurry. I can still smell chlorine, but now something else is much more prominent-” he began.

“Sulfur,” Pacifica was gazing at something beyond the clearing in a deeper part of the woods.

Bill looked slightly surprised, “Yeah, sulfur. How do _you_ know?”

 

Pacifica shrugged, “I liked chemistry.”

“Aw, my girlfriend is a science nerd,” Mabel giggled as Bill confusedly glanced at the blonde girl.

“Yeah, yeah,” Wendy sighed, “Kids, where the fuck are we going? Let’s go. We don’t want to be out here at night.”

“Yeah, let’s go…” Dipper took a few steps forward before freezing and turning back to Bill, who was smirking at him.

“Sorry,” Dipper laughed awkwardly, “You’re leading the way.”

 

Bill inhaled deeply, eyes narrowed, and the air filled with static once again. Mabel could feel her hair standing on end.

He turned on his heel, vision darting around the trees. Then he stopped suddenly, nodding a little.

“This way, c’mon, lock and load,” he beckoned, walking quickly, and the rest of the group followed him.

 

The night chill crept up around them as they walked, and the trees stared silently. The breeze slowly developed an edge, the cool forest air filling their lungs with scent of pine. Bill pushed up his sleeves to feel the cold, feel the energy against his tanned skin, his gold eyes sparking.

Soon enough they came to a stream, and Bill clutched nervously at his arms and wrists and hair.

“Just go over it, on the rocks,” Bill told them, acting as if it was nothing.

As the girls helped each other cross over, Dipper put a hand on Bill’s arm. The demon flinched.

“You’re getting jumpy. Are you scared about what we might find?” Dipper asked anxiously, himself wondering what they might find.

“A little,” Bill admitted, grinning as Mabel nearly fell into the small river, “But Purgatory is right there. If anything happens to me right now, I’ll lose my rein, and he’ll take over.”

“So… what does that mean for us?” Dipper asked, consequently very, very scared.

“I have no idea, he’s not under my control,” Bill shrugged, then noticing Dipper’s frightened expression, added, “Hopefully he’ll burn himself off finding Ford and whoever or whatever is causing all this shit. But there is a possibility that he’ll ignore the previous ‘programming’ of sorts, and just kill you all.”

“Oh, well that’s a real comfort,” Dipper said flatly, “Let’s cross.”

 

Halfway across the stream, Dipper was just ahead of Bill, and the demon’s foot slipped on a stone. He was fine, of course - Dipper caught him by the arms and stopped him falling face-first into the river. But as Bill’s head lifted, Dipper noticed the snarl on his face, and that his golden irises had been replaced by blood-red eyes.

“Bill?” Asked Dipper nervously. The girls watched from the other bank.

 

The demon dusted himself off.

“Ha! I’m still Bill, yeah, just not the Bill you make puppy-eyes at,” Purgatory snickered cruelly.

The red-eyed man noticed his clothes, and glared distastefully at them. “Well, it could be worse, I guess,” he laughed out loud, “Remember that one suit jacket you bought, Heaven?”

“ _‘Purgatory’s taking over my body!’"_ The demon mimicked in a childish voice, before returning to his previous bellowing, "It’s not _your_ body, it’s _ours!_ Learn to fucking share, Hell!”

 

Purgatory’s voice was so loud that it bounced off the trees, and the entire forest seemed to shush him.

“Whatever, Demeter. Or is this Harpocrates speaking?” A giggle rose in the demon’s chest.

“Uh… Purgatory, I guess… Can we maybe finish crossing the river?” Asked Dipper.

“Risky move, Tree Boy, tryna be sassy at a demon," Purgatory fixed his mad smile on Dipper, and then appeared behind Mabel and Pacifica. The demon touched the backs of their necks, and the two fell to the ground instantly.

 

“What did you do?” Dipper yelled, jumping on rocks towards his sister, making it to the bank, and feeling for a pulse.

“They’re alive, you stupid boy. They’ll slow us down,” Purgatory growled. Then he turned to the other girl, “Now, who’s this striking young lady?”

Wendy backed away slightly.

“You can’t run, silly!” Purgatory sang, “You’ll do fine, though. Stay close.”

 

“So… you’re helping us find Ford?” Dipper asked nervously, after checking the Mabel’s pulse was definitely there.

Purgatory paused, eyes closed, then laughed lightly. “Oh my, you- ooh. I better keep quiet. I forget that Hell only has _itty bitty baby magic_.”

“What are you talking about?” Wendy asked.

“Well, _I_ have powers over time! It came with an unfortunate scent that hangs about, but it’s pretty fucking excellent. I know _everything,”_ Purgatory smiled, “I’ll help you find the gate, but you’ll have to find Sixer on your own.”

 

“The gate?” Dipper mouthed at Wendy, who shook her head in alarm, shrugging.

“Don’t watch this bit, kids,” Purgatory threw another smile back towards Dipper and Wendy, “It might gross you out.”

The pair watched in gory, horrific amazement as the human figure transformed into some kind of huge hound, deep red eyes shining in the setting sun. It was a huge dog, black fur, bones snapping into place, joints growing and popping, things twisting at unnatural angles - and Dipper looked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where i've planned up to - apart from the basic ending. i'm hoping you will get to meet heaven at some point but idk  
> hope you enjoyed! kudos and comments especially make my day and i'd love to hear from you!!!


	10. in the back of my mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little about the past, but this may leave us with more questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, i hope you're enjoying reading this. this chapter is quite plot-heavy, but the next one will be a cute little break before we jump straight back into... whatever this is.  
> also - i'm sorry for not posting more. i tried really hard to make this regular but the truth is i'm a bit of an up and down person. my mental health also isn't up to scratch at the moment but that's ok  
> please enjoy!!

_i've gone and let the city fall right down on top of me, yes i have, oh yes i have,_

_well, these walls are gonna crumble and bury my shame, they're gonna bury my shame, all my shame,_

_well ain't nobody ever gonna know the trouble i'm in, the trouble i'm in, oh the trouble i'm in…_

 

☆彡

 

The huge black wolf growled, a low grumbling vibrating from its throat. It snarled slightly, saliva dripping from its teeth. With an odd curling motion, the dark fur rippled backwards. Eyes appeared, eyes all over its back coating it in red shining ovals - all fixed on a young man.

 

“Please, don’t hurt her…” The man begged. Behind him, a girl lay on the ground.

“Don’t hurt her,” the man repeated, falling to his knees, “Don’t hurt her, don’t hurt her, don’t hurt her…”

 

☆彡

 

Bill sat up with a jolt, breathing heavily. At the end of the couch, near Bill’s legs, Dipper’s head rested peacefully.

The demon glanced around the living room. It was clearly night, and there were no lights on inside, so Bill could barely see.

 

Wait.

Bill could barely see. His eyes couldn’t see well in the dark, surely that meant that Purgatory was gone, along with his animal-like senses… What had happened?

 

The demon closed his eyes, breathing deeply, and searched inside himself.

Down in the depths of his being, he found Purgatory, asleep, and Heaven sitting cross-legged on the floor.

Heaven glanced up as he approached.

“Hell. I see you’ve regained control,” Heaven stated.

“You didn’t try to fight me. At all,” Bill responded curiously, “Why?”

 

“I’ll know when it’s my time to take this vessel. That time isn’t now,” Heaven didn’t move his mouth when he spoke, but Bill heard the words his counterpart was saying. In fact, the only thing that moved in Heaven’s figure was his electric blue eyes, following invisible things in an unsettling way.

Bill sighed. He’d never liked Heaven. There was something so _off_ about his angelic demeanour - although he wasn’t actually an _angel,_ per se. He was _of Heaven,_ but no matter how hard he may try, he was still a demon.

 

“I had the strangest dream just now,” Bill began.

“Mmm?” Heaven hummed.

“Well. No, it wasn’t strange. It was about the… the beginning. With him,” Bill’s throat constricted.

 

Heaven still didn’t move.

“That demon is dead. What he did to us will never be forgiven. But you need to move on - Purgatory and I already have. Our sister was a tragedy, I know. Since we were split, since everything… it will never go back to the way it was. I think you barely even _remember_ the way it was. And if it could go back to that, would you want to?” Heaven asked, eyes piercing Bill’s skull.

 

Bill thought of Dipper. Someone who he cared about, after all these years, and Shooting Star, and Red, and even that snobby rich girl (who was actually pretty great). Bill wanted to protect them, to make them happy, to find Ford, to help the town he and his other sides nearly destroyed. But, more than anything, Bill wanted to _stay._ No matter how much he missed her...

 

“No, I don’t want to go back there. I want to stay here… I guess I am as selfish as you two say,” Bill laughed sadly.

Heaven’s eyes fixed on the ground once again.

“No,” Heaven’s voice echoed through Bill’s brain. Bill frowned slightly.

“What do you mean-” he began.

Heaven cut him off, “You are not just the most ‘selfish.’ You are, in fact, the most _human_.”

 

Bill smiled.

 

☆彡

 

Once, in a place very far from a couch in a tiny town in Oregon, and much further back in time, a young man stood watching hordes of huge black wolves tear apart everything he loved.

 

“Bill?” Called a woman, “Run, honey, just run. Take your sister and _run!_ ”

The young man grabbed a little girl’s hand, talking softly to her, wiping away the tears on her face. He hoisted the girl over his shoulder, throwing open the back door of their small home, motioning for his mother to come with them.

 

“I can’t run, baby,” His mother cried, gesturing to a broken ankle, “I’m sorry, just go! Protect your sister! _Please!”_ Tears were streaming down the young man’s face as he sprinted out the door, not glancing back.

Bill felt it before he saw anything. The field was huge, larger than the eye could see in one direction, but if he could make it to that forest to the east-

Suddenly, the thuds of huge paws vibrated through the air. Bill kept running. Just make it to the trees…

 

The little girl over his shoulder widened her eyes and screamed. Fire surrounded the both of them, circling, burning, and hot panting breaths came from behind the young man. He slowly turned his head.

 

The little girl slid to the ground, her eyes rolling back into her head.

“What are you doing?!” Bill cried at the beast, “Please, stop it, stop- what did you do to her?!”

He crouched on the ground beside his sister. “Wake up, please, what’s wrong…” He turned back towards the wolf.

“Don’t hurt her,” he begged, “Please…”

 

“She’s not dead,” drawled a voice from atop the hound.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?!” Bill yelled.

“Hm. Feisty. I like it. Name’s Samael, what about you, kid?”

A… well, it was a shape. It hovered down the side of the huge wolf, an odd green glow emanating from it.

“My- my name is Bill. What did you do to my sister?” Bill asked, panicking.

 

“She’ll be fine… for now,” Samael informed him. Bill was slightly confused as to _how,_ seeing as Samael didn’t seem to have a mouth.

“Listen, all I needed to do was decimate an entire village. Someone broke a deal and I’m _not_ a happy man. But you’re making this so hard for me. Just die, and you’ll go to Heaven with your mother and sister!” The tone of the demon was joyful.

 

“I don’t want to die! Why would you kill everyone just because someone made you unhappy? Please, just let us go-” Bill tried.

“No!” Samael yelled angrily, the fire rising higher. The heat was singeing Bill’s hair and skin.

“You don’t get it. I _have_ to do this,” the demon clicked his fingers, and the girl’s body lifted into the air.

 

She hung suspended, almost tranquil, so very high up, before falling, falling, falling- _crack!_ An ugly sound rang through the air, and Samael laughed, his distorted voice drowning out Bill’s cries.

 

Bill stood up.

“How could you do that? I'm going to kill you,” he growled, his anger flaring.

“Heh. No you’re not. But you should know better than to threaten me, after what you just saw… I think I’ll send you on a little journey,” Samael raised an… arm? “You probably won’t be back, but who knows - maybe you’ll get lucky! So long, Bill!”

 

_Click._

Bill was thrown out of his own body, ripped into three parts, and then chucked through Heaven and Hell and everything in between. By the time he got back, Samael and his wolves were long gone.

 

He didn’t look at his sister. He didn’t go to his mother.

He found a stream and took his own reflection in.

 

And then he left, and never came back.

 

☆彡

 

“Hey,” Dipper took Bill’s hand, “Are you feeling okay?”

 

Bill stared upwards.

“Just remembering some things. And not others, it seems…” the demon glanced at Dipper, “What happened in the forest?”

“You… Purgatory lead Wendy and I somewhere. A waterfall. He said there was something behind it, but that we couldn’t go in there yet,” Dipper explained as Bill nodded along, “And then he… did something, I don’t know what. Then he transformed back to human and collapsed.”

 

“Wait, _back_ to human?” Bill asked, “What was he? Oh, god, tell me it wasn’t a spider. Last time he did that it - you know, never mind.”

“Ah… it was a massive wolf, actually,” Dipper frowned.

"You're," Bill paused, "You've got to be kidding me."

"How is that any weirder than a giant spider?" Dipper asked.

“It’s… a long story," Bill grimaced.

 

Dipper looked suspicious for a moment, before seeing the tired look in Bill’s eyes. The brunet placed a kiss on Bill’s forehead, smiling down at him.

“You call _that_ a kiss?” Bill complained, sitting up slightly and grabbing Dipper’s shirt, pulling him down.

Dipper’s lips were cool against the demon’s, and Bill smirked as Dipper climbed on top of him on the couch. The contact was so welcome, Dipper's legs hugging the sides of Bill's torso, and Bill nearly felt happy for a moment.

 

“Oh- woah, okay, that looks too steamy for me, I’m- wow,” Mabel entered, spun on her heel, and left.

Dipper sat back, “Dammit Mabel,” he called after his sister, before adding in a kinder tone to Bill, “Want some breakfast?”

“Yes please,” Bill perked up eagerly.

“Yeah, well, get it yourself,” Dipper laughed as Bill’s expression dropped, “Your body was overtaken by some OP asshole who probably wants to kill both of us, whatever. Go make some cereal. I’m having a shower.”

 

☆彡

 

Mabel was in the kitchen.

 

“Hey, Shooting Star. Are you alright?” Bill asked gently. Mabel lifted her head from the kitchen table slightly, before placing it back down with a dull thud.

“Pacifica went home already, I think I got her in trouble with her parents… but apart from that, I’m good,” Mabel gave Bill a thumbs-up.

 

“Good to know. I didn’t… do anything too bad, did I? When I wasn’t- you know, me?” Bill asked, busying himself with making cereal.

“I dunno,” Mabel sat up properly, “You knocked me out.”

Bill froze.

 

“I _what?_ ” He asked, placing the cereal box down calmly, turning towards the girl.

“You touched the back of Pacifica and I’s heads, and we passed out. It was pretty weird, and a bit scary when we woke up and there was no one else there… but, yeah,” Mabel finished vaguely, watching Bill’s face.

 

“That _bastard,_ I’m- ohhhh, man. That fucking asshole,” Bill was seething.

“What?” Mabel asked, “It’s not that bad, it’s not like we’re dead…”

 

Bill wasn’t listening to her. First the hound, and now this? What was Purgatory playing at?

 

☆彡

 

“Okay, was there **anything** I - _he_ said that was out of place?” Bill asked.

 

“I already told you everything,” Dipper sighed, “Although…”

“What?” Bill asked urgently.

“He did sorta say something weird about finding Ford,” Dipper said hesitantly, “He laughed a bit and said something like ‘oh wait you don’t know yet.’ It was like… I don’t know.”

 

“That fucker knows something we don’t,” Bill breathed in realisation, smiling slightly.

“Why is that something to be happy about?” Asked Dipper.

“Because if he knows something, I can make him tell me,” Bill smirked, and Dipper winced.

“You can’t exactly torture him for information… can you?” Dipper asked doubtfully.

 

“Well, I can fight him for it. We’ll see how it goes,” Bill cracked his fingers and neck, stretching out, and then sat on the floor. He closed his eyes.

“Into battle,” he whispered, and Dipper stood back, slightly scared of what would happen.

 

☆彡

 

Dipper returned to watching Bill after a few hours of sleep.

 

The demon had been sitting there all day, twitching occasionally. Dipper was anxious about what was going on… in there? Could Bill actually die? What if something really bad happened?

 

Suddenly, as Dipper looked back towards Bill in the warm light of the kitchen, he realised the demon’s eyes were open. The colour of the irises flickered between bright blue, red, and gold.

The eyes seemed to settle on blue.

 

The demon stood, dusted himself off, and noticed Dipper standing there awkwardly.

“Dipper Pines,” considered the newly blue-eyed man. His accent was different to both Bill and Purgatory - he sounded more upper class, and possibly not as American as the other two. In fact, there was something oddly European about his voice.

“Um… yeah, I guess you're Heaven, then?” Dipper asked nervously, extending a hand on impulse.

Heaven stared at the outstretched hand in surprise, before Dipper pulled it back.

“Sorry, uh, human- human thing, I guess. You use it to seal deals, right, so…” Dipper murmured.

 

“It's actually a sign of peace, I think,” Heaven ran a glass under the tap, filling it with water.

“Sure,” Dipper responded, frowning distractedly as Heaven sipped from his glass, “Uh… are you, like, gonna be here for a while?”

“Actually, this was an accident. They're still rumbling around in there, I just got pushed out,” Heaven said cheerily, “I better go play paramedic for the boys. I'll meet you properly soon, Mr. Pines.”

 

Dipper stood still as Heaven returned to the cross-legged position on the floor.

“Very soon,” the blue-eyed demon breathed, and Dipper felt a chill run down his back. That guy gave him the creeps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when bill is having a 'flashback' i realise that it's written in english, but that they wouldn't be speaking english  
> stay tuned for more. i swear this will all turn out alright hahaha...
> 
> ._.


	11. bowling alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins and their significant others go on a trip to the local bowling alley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> underage drinking and some homophobia/internalised homophobia :/  
> hope you enjoy it tho!!

_ i know your type, black lights and leather tights,  _

_ you’re black ice on the road on a drunken summer night,  _

_ but i got your number, your name, and your will to fight,  _

_ will you be coming over? will you be coming, reckon you might… _

 

☆彡

 

“MORNING, SUNSHINE!” Bill exclaimed cheerfully.

 

“Bill?” Asked Dipper blearily, lifting his head from the kitchen table and blinking.

“Did you sleep there all night?” Bill asked, chiding Dipper.

 

“What?” Dipper asked again, before snapping up.

“Bill! You're awake! Are you… okay? Like, how'd it go?” He asked quickly.

Bill gave him a smile, and a quick kiss, before making a face.

“Dude, go clean your teeth. You have  _ really  _ bad morning breath,” Bill giggled.

 

“Fine, whatever. I haven't even had breakfast,” Dipper pouted.

Bill threw him an apple.

“Health!” He exclaimed as Dipper gave him a look that clearly said; ‘An apple?  _ Really?’ _

The brunet headed upstairs for a shower, smiling. Little did he know that downstairs, Bill had placed his head on the kitchen table, tears running down his face.

 

☆彡

 

Bill was trying to remember what increased magic. He'd snuck into some huge libraries in his time, trying to find information that could help him. Of course, ‘him’ was very confusing at the the time. Heaven tended to look at angels and gods, while Purgatory went for dark magics, etc. Bill though, the ‘real’ Bill as he kept trying to convince himself, tended to research practical things.

 

Increasing power was one of those things.

So was entering the mindscape, the logistics of making deals, and… well, playing the piano, but that's a story for another time.

 

_ Bloodstone circle. That's tedious. _

_ Zodiac. Easy, but not that effective. _

_ Human sacrifice - uh, no. _

_ Ritualistic movement… huh. Maybe. _

 

Bill tapped his finger on the floor. He could barely remember his routine, but if he could put things in the right place, maybe his body would complete it without thinking.

 

Stone. Gold. Wire. Water. Wood. Flames. Glass. 

 

“Hey Shooting Star!” Bill called out.

“What the fuck do you  _ want _ , Bill,” Mabel rubbed at her eyes as she sat up on the couch, waking from a nap.

“Oh, there you are! Would your girlfriend have any gold lying around?” He cocked his head to one side, “And why were you asleep? I thought humans slept at night?”

“Why do you need gold?” Mabel asked confusedly, “And yeah, but if you’re tired you can sleep whenever you want. Like how Dipper doesn’t sleep for three days and then passes out in his room.”

 

Bill nodded in understanding, before explaining, “There’s this thing I can do that will increase my magic, and I need certain materials to do it. Gold is one of them.”

“God, tell me human blood isn’t another one,” Mabel giggled, falling back onto the couch and smiling at the ceiling.

“No,” Bill rolled his eyes, then paused, “Actually-”

 

“What’s up fuckers,” Wendy wandered disinterestedly into the room, “We opening the shop today? Do you guys have a plan of action or some shit?”

“Red!” Bill exclaimed, “Got any gold?”

“Nope, I'm broke,” Wendy grinned.

Bill huffed.

 

Dipper strolled into the room, one hand holding his phone to his ear, and Bill’s expression brightened immediately. 

“Yeah, don’t worry about us, we’re fine. I’m sure! Seriously, mom, stop, everything is fine, he’ll turn up. We can look after ourselves! This is supposed to be our gap year, mom.”

There was a pause, and Dipper glanced towards Bill, turning pink.

“Mom! Stop! Here. Talk to Mabel.”

 

Dipper thrust the phone at his twin, who picked it up with a smile.

“Hey, how are you?” Mabel asked sincerely.

 

Wendy motioned for Dipper and Bill to come into the kitchen with her.

Dipper helped his boyfriend off the floor and followed the girl into the other room.

“What did you tell your mom?” Wendy asked.

“I told her that Ford is missing, and that Stan had a nasty fall - everything’s fine,” Dipper sighed.

“Okay, that’s good. Make sure you stick to that story, okay?” She raised her eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Dipper held the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, and Wendy gave him a gentle pat on the back.

“Everything will be fine, buddy,” she smiled warmly, and Bill narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Well, if we’re not opening the shop, I’m gonna go hang with the boys,” Wendy walked away, sticking her head into the living room to wave goodbye to Mabel, “See ya!” 

 

As the back door closed, Bill turned to Dipper.

“So, what else did your mom say? I noticed that little look at me, and you blushing,” Bill smirked as Dipper blushed again.

“Nothing, just… she wanted to know if I’d met any ‘nice girls’ while I was here,” Dipper rolled his eyes.

“Oh…” Bill frowned, “Why just girls?”

“Because… guys aren’t supposed to like other guys?” Dipper attempted to explain angrily.

“What do you mean?” Bill asked, confused.

 

“Guys are supposed to like girls. That’s just- that’s how it goes,” Dipper made a random gesture with his hands.

“But… girls can like guys and other girls?” Bill raised an eyebrow.

“No, girls are supposed to like guys,” Dipper stated.

“But Shooting Star-” Bill started.

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Dipper walked back into the living room just as Mabel hung up the phone.

 

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“I’m trying to explain to Bill that I can’t tell my parents that I have a boyfriend, at least not yet, because they might not take it well-” Dipper began.

“Well that’s crap, I just told mom about Pacifica,” Mabel grinned.

“You  _ what?”  _ Dipper paled.

 

“She said that was great, and that she didn’t care whether I had a boyfriend or a girlfriend or any other kind of relationship, as long as I was happy!” Mabel beamed proudly.

“Oh,” Dipper looked at the ground.

 

“Wait… is this what you meant about not being ‘straight?’” Bill asked.

“Yeah. Straight, or heterosexual, is when you’re attracted to the opposite gender. That’s how you’re supposed to-” Dipper tried.

“Shut your whore mouth,” Mabel rolled her eyes, then turned to Bill, “Don’t let him put this rubbish in your brain, Bill. You can be straight or gay or lesbian like Pacifica or bi like me or pan. And there’s a whole bunch of other sexualities out there that are perfectly okay to be.”

 

“Woah,” Bill stepped back, “Okay, uh… right. So… what?”

Mabel laughed as Dipper looked on, scandalized. How could she be so calm about this? He wasn’t straight, there was something wrong with him…

 

“Dipper, I can basically hear you thinking. You’re not broken,” Mabel placed a hand on his back, “Come on, bro-bro. We should go on a double-date! That’ll cheer you up!”

Dipper gave her his best ‘absolutely done with you’ face. It didn’t seem to deter her.

“Pacifica and I were talking about going bowling,” she smiled, “You two can come with us!”

 

Mabel grabbed Bill and pulled him to her other side, linking arms with the two boys.

“It’ll be great! Come on, let’s go!” She dragged them both out the door.

 

☆彡

 

“What. Are you doing here.”

 

Pacifica gazed down at the trio from her window.

“We’re going bowling!” Mabel smiled up at her, “Do you wanna come? And make it a double date?”

Pacifica hesitated, glancing at the clock on her wall.

“I can’t, I’ve got a-” Pacifica noticed Mabel’s slightly sadder face, “You know what? Fuck that. Let’s go.”

 

Bill grinned at Dipper, mouthing ‘I like this kid.’ Dipper sighed, smiling slightly, and suddenly looking panicked.

Bill followed Dipper’s line of sight as Pacifica lowered herself over her balcony on some sort of cloth rope.

All three stood with open mouths as she slid the heels she’d thrown down previously back onto her feet.

 

Pacifica gave a nervous smile, linking hands with Mabel, who looked incredibly proud.

“Babe, that...” Mabel began.

“Yes?” Pacifica asked.

“Was awesome,” The brunette finished, kissing Pacifica’s cheek.

 

“Scandalous,” Bill giggled, “C’mon, let’s do whatever weird human thing we’re doing today.”

“Wait, we can’t take my car. My parents will be mad…” Pacifica paused.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got a car,” Dipper smirked.

“I don’t want to get in that rusty contraption-” Pacifica protested.

“Get over it, Llama Girl,” Bill rolled his eyes, “I’ve driven a car made out of dinosaur skin. I’m sure you can handle it.”

 

They piled into the old car, Mabel and Pacifica in the back seat, Bill riding shotgun, and Dipper driving. 

“Dinosaur skin?” Dipper asked curiously.

“Not now, Pine Tree. It’s a long story,” Bill put his feet up on the dashboard. Dipper gave him a distasteful look, but said nothing as he drove away.

 

“Hey, Llama Girl - woah, uh...” Bill began, twisting his head, only to be greeted with the sight of Mabel and Pacifica making out. They quickly pulled away, Pacifica looking ashamed of herself, and Mabel looking happy.

“Don’t call me that,” Pacifica scowled.

“Sorry Diamonds,” he tried again, and she shrugged, “Do you have any gold?”

 

“Bill, you can just use one of my old rings!” Mabel sighed, “Did you seriously interrupt us for  _ that? _ ”

“Well, not just that,” Bill raised an eyebrow, “Do you have any more alcohol?”

“No, my flask is in the wash. It had demon saliva on it,” Pacifica deadpanned.

Bill laughed, “Okay. We should buy some, let’s have a fun time!”

“Uh, Bill…” Dipper interrupted, “One, it’s the middle of the day, two, we’re underage.”

“Underage?” Bill cocked his head to one side.

“Yeah, the legal drinking age here is 21. Mabel and I are 19, and Pacifica’s 18. We can’t just buy some alcohol,” Dipper explained.

 

“But… Pacifica, you had-” Bill was confused.

“Yeah, yeah, I stole it from my parents. Technically, it’s illegal,” Pacifica sighed, “But most of the world has the legal drinking age at 18, so, y’know, whatever.”

“Oh,” Bill considered.

 

“Anyway, yeah, we shouldn’t be doing that anymore,” Dipper admonished.

“Okay, fine, Jesus,” Pacifica rolled her eyes. 

“We’re here!” Mabel exclaimed cheerily, ignoring the glum atmosphere of the room.

 

☆彡

 

“I wonder how Stan’s going?” Dipper wondered aloud. Although Mabel had gone to check up on him last night while he watched over Bill, he hadn’t gotten to see the old man. He hoped he didn’t look too bad. 

“Hey Mabel,” Dipper called when he’d finished lacing up his weird bowling shoes, “How does Stan look?”

“The doctors say he’s gonna be fine, don’t worry about it!” Mabel replied.

Bill took note of this exchange, feeling something tighten inside him. He needed to strengthen his magic - not just to fight Samael, but to help heal Stan.

“No, like how does he actually  _ look? _ ” Dipper asked.

Mabel paused.

“Honestly?” She asked, sighing, “He looks  _ dead, _ Dipper. His skin is really pale, and he just… I know he’s going to wake up, I know he’ll be alright. But I don’t think he’s gonna be the same.”

Dipper glanced down their alley grimly. There were only two other groups in the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex at that hour - a small tribe of teenage girls giggling and glancing at Bill (which Dipper frowned at), and some sort of team in which most of the healthier pensioners of Gravity Falls were playing in.

 

The Desert Flower’s ‘Arcade Fun Complex’ was run down, with none of the three arcade games working. Apparently, the owner was looking to renovate and spice it up a little, but Dipper thought maybe they should just knock this thing down. It was pretty ugly.

 

Bill’s snickering brought him out of his thoughts.

Mabel was about to bowl, and apparently he was on her team, while Bill and Pacifica played together.

_ ‘Great,’ _ he thought. Mabel was shit at bowling.

Bill had noticed the group of staring girls. One, who looked the oldest, maybe Dipper’s age, winked at the demon.

Bill glanced at Dipper and noticed his slightly jealous expression.

“Don’t worry Pine Tree,” Bill nudged the brunet, “You’re the only one with a hold on my heart.”

 

Dipper blushed a little, laughing.

“Whatever, dude,” he smiled, “Your bowl. Go!”

Bill rushed to pick up a ball, shaking himself out a little. Pacifica stepped up to correct his posture slightly, then gave him a thumbs up. Bill managed to knock most of the pins down, leaving three standing.

“Pretty good for your first try!” Pacifica encouraged.

“Hell yes!” Bill laughed.

 

“How come you never correct my posture?” Mabel frowned at Dipper.

“Shut up, there’s nothing I can do to make your horrendous bowling better,” Dipper groaned.

 

☆彡

 

Sometime during their game, the oldest girl, the one who’d winked at Bill, came over to their alley while Dipper was bowling.

 

“Hey, hot stuff. What are you doing later?” The girl asked.

“Uh… what?” Bill asked, suddenly flustered.

Dipper turned around, having just scored a spare.

“Hey Bill, did you see-” He noticed how close the girl was standing to Bill.

“Um. Hey. What’s going on here?” Dipper asked, annoyed.

 

“I was just asking your pal here what he was doing later,” the girl smiled, “And one of my friends wants to know the same about you!”

“We’re not interested,” Dipper stated firmly as Pacifica and Mabel giggled in the background.

“Well, you may not be, but your friend hasn’t given me an answer,” the girl looked back to Bill.

 

Dipper took a deep breath.

“I don’t think you understand,” he explained in a mocking tone, grabbing Bill’s hand, “Neither of us are interested in a polyamorous relationship right now. Especially not with you. We’ve just got a lot of stuff on our plate, don’t we honey?”

“Yeah,” Bill smiled, “Sorry, lady. I’m really into this guy. In more ways than one, if you know what I mean.” He gave her a wink unlike the one she’d given him earlier.

 

The girl stormed back to her lane, quickly surrounded by her friends.

Bill and Dipper burst out laughing. Mabel and Pacifica quickly joined in.

 

☆彡

 

Meanwhile, in the other lane…

 

“Hey, wait, isn’t that blonde girl Pacifica Northwest?” One of the girls muttered.

“Oh. My god. Is that her friend, or are her and that freak Mabel  _ dating? _ ”

“ _ No way.  _ We have to tell someone!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, if you liked this, don't forget to leave kudos and/or a comment!!! :)  
> and if anyone spotted the wtnv reference in this please say so


	12. there's something i'm missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill finds something in the cave. Pacifica won't pick up her phone. Mabel is a bad driver. Dipper thinks he's missing something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry: it's been a while since i posted a chapter, and it's not even GOOD!!! i hope you forgive me. more coming soon - we're getting closer and closer to the end, and even though it's not the best, i'm still proud of this fic. thanks for sticking with me so far. :)

_ run, run, don’t trail behind, keep moving, the beasts won’t stop till we’re dead, _

_ all the scrapes on our knees will tell you where we’ve been, where we have bled, _

_ oh we play, in autumn days, _

_ won’t lay down our heads till the day is won, _

_ won’t stop running till we reach the sun, _

_ chasing all the things that are keeping us young, _

_ won’t stop running till we reach the sun… _

 

☆彡

 

“Oh, damn,” Pacifica noticed the time on her watch, “Sorry guys, I really have to go. My parents are gonna be  _ so  _ mad.” The blonde’s eyes sparkled in humour.

 

“I love how you get joy from that,” Dipper laughed.

“Well, they don’t ever do anything to me really, I just get yelled at. It’s not so bad,” Pacifica shrugged. “This has been fun. We should do it again,” She added.

“Yeah!” Exclaimed Mabel, “Okay, want me to drive you back?” 

  
“Thanks,” Pacifica smiled gratefully.

As Mabel and Pacifica left the shack, Bill looked over at Dipper.

“Hey, Pine Tree. Pines. PT. Hey. Over here,” he prodded Dipper’s shoulder.

“What?” Dipper laughed.

 

“Let me kiss you,” Bill giggled, and Dipper went pink.

“Uh…” Dipper said eloquently, “Ok?”

Bill leaned forward and pressed his lips against Dipper's. The kiss was cool and soft, and sort of weird, but like a good weird, y’know?

“That girl at the bowling alley is nothing compared to you. Just so you know,” Bill whispered, gently placing his arms over Dipper's shoulders. 

 

“Well, that's good to know, seeing as I'm your boyfriend,” Dipper giggled.

“Shh. Sleep,” Bill softly pushed Dipper down into the couch. 

“Ok,” Dipper nodded, eyes closing. He slept better than he had in months, possibly years.

 

Unbeknownst to him, Bill placed his index fingers on Dipper's temples, golden magic flowing into the brunet’s brain. Bill drained all the nightmares out of him, then sat back at the other end of the couch, curled into a ball.

He didn't do anything to try and stop them this time. He let the nightmares come. Maybe if Heaven was in a charitable mood, he’d come help.

 

But probably not.

 

☆彡

 

Halfway through the night, Bill woke up. 

 

Except, he wasn't Bill. He was Heaven, too. And Purgatory - what the fuck was happening?

He wasn't conflicted against himself - in fact, all three of him were working together as he threw on another jacket and left the Shack.

 

“Heaven, what's going on?” Bill asked.

“We're going to the place where the ritual is being performed,” Heaven explained, “Purgatory seems to be helping somehow-”

“Wow, for once he's not being a whiny little bitch,” Bill smirked.

“Language, Hell,” Heaven chided. The stillness of the angelic demon still unnerved Bill.

 

“Yeah, whatever,” Bill snarled, feeling his body sprint through the woods.

“Purgatory!” Heaven called, “Are you sure this is the way?”

A growl sounded from the darkness.

“There's no need to be rude,” Heaven replied, miffed.

 

“We’re here,” Purgatory barked, “Hell, I'm giving you some magic temporarily. Then I'm taking it back.”

“Okay, sure,” Bill began, “But before we do that, just so you know, we’re gonna have to work together on this. If we wanna stop whatever is going on here.”

“ _ Okay,  _ just go investigate, Hell. I'll be waiting for you,” Heaven waved his hand royally.

 

Yeah, royally. A royal pain in the ass.

Another growl from the corner of the room.

“Yes, I expect he'll be waiting too,” Heaven commented dryly, before swivelling his eyes to Bill.

“Go on,” his face didn't move, but there was a twinkle in his eye.

 

Bill went.

 

☆彡

 

The first thing he was aware of was that he was cold, and drenched. 

 

It hadn't been raining, though - that must have been the waterfall Dipper mentioned. The sound of raging water registered in Bill’s ears, pounding, making his head hurt.

“Okay…” Bill winced, trying to see through the darkness of the cave. It didn't work.

 

Hesitant, Bill held his hand out in front of him and experimentally tried to light a fire in his palm.

Surprisingly, Purgatory had made good, and a bright red fire lit up the room. The colour was one Bill hadn't seen in a while. 

 

Bill Cipher, the demon Pine Tree and Shooting Star knew from their childhood - that demon had blue magic, blue fire.

Out of the three beings, Heaven had the strongest magic, and since Purgatory had been in control, he'd sapped magic off both Heaven and himself. But since he - Hell, that is - didn't have much magic, the hue of the magic was blue. It was quite pretty, really. In a disturbing way.

 

The red brought back memories, some of which Bill would rather have forgotten.

 

Altogether, the cave was rather unremarkable. There were a couple of symbols on the walls, but apart from that, everything seemed normal.

He attempted to smudge one of the symbols, but it didn't budge - it seemed immovable. He wondered for a second what could do that, possibly a universal constant ritual of some sort. He'd heard of those, but it would take immense skill and knowledge to perform-oh.  _ Oh. _

 

From what Purgatory had told him, it certainly seemed like the culprit they both (and maybe Heaven too) suspected. It was definitely within his skill set.

 

_ “Fuck,”  _ Bill thought,  _ “How am I going to explain this?” _

In the corner of the cave, something white caught his eye. He bent down, picking it up, and saw that it was a scribbled list.

The names  **“Oliver Sundry”** and **“Jillian Treads”** were crossed out. Something clicked in Bill’s brain as he thought:  _ ‘Jillian Treads… wasn't that the girl who died in that so-called “accident?”’ _

Bill scanned down the paper, and read the final line.

**“Dipper and Mabel Pines.”**

 

Bill made to turn the paper over. Suddenly, the light in his palm flickered out.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake Purgatory, I'm not even dry yet,” Bill complained.

 

☆彡

 

By the time he found his way out of the cave and back to the Shack, the sun was dawning.

“Uh… hey?” Greeted Mabel.

“Oh, Shooting Star!” Bill smiled. Mabel's confused expression was the best thing that had happened to him all morning. 

“You're up early,” he mused, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on a hook.

“I could say the same to you,” Mabel giggled.

 

“Yeah, well, my two friends-” Bill tapped his skull, “-decided it would be a good idea to have a midnight adventure. Forgetting that now I'm in a human body, I should actually get a good night’s sleep once in a while.” 

He sighed heavily, sitting down at the breakfast table.

Mabel poured some milk into her bowl of cereal, then slid it across the table to Bill.

“You look like you need it, bud,” she smiled comfortingly, “I’ll make myself another.”

 

Bill accepted the bowl gratefully - he was  _ so  _ hungry. He did note the way Mabel treated the cereal like alcohol or something similar, but he was too busy stuffing his face full of the sugary breakfast to say anything about it.

 

“Are you done?” Mabel asked, sitting back down at the table.

“Nearly,” Bill stirred the remaining cereal around in his bowl.

“Well… you should maybe go have a shower. You're dripping all over the floor,” She explained.

“Oh,” Bill sighed.

 

After he’d rinsed his bowl, Bill left the kitchen, tracking muddy water and leaves all over the house.

He met Dipper on the stairs.

 

“Morning- what happened?” Dipper asked.

“Don't even ask,” Bill replied tiredly, “Meeting in the kitchen after my shower. Tell Star to invite the Llama Girl.”

 

☆彡

 

“Okay,” Bill took a deep breath, before narrowing his eyes and looking around the too-empty kitchen.

 

“Where's Llama Girl?” he asked.

“Don't call her that,” Mabel snapped.

“Dude, what's going on?” Dipper touched Mabel’s arm lightly.

 

“I've called her a bunch of times, but she hasn't picked up!” Mabel exclaimed.

“Did she talk to you after you dropped her off?” Bill asked.

“No! I've been going over what I said in the car, but I don't think I said anything  _ bad _ ,” Mabel explained, gesturing wildly.

“I'm sure it's not that,” Dipper said comfortingly.

 

“Ehhh,” Bill made a non-committal sound, wincing, “You never know.”

Both twins glared at them.

 

“Can't we just continue whatever we were doing without her?” Dipper proposed.

“Actually, we might need her, I don't know,” Bill shrugged, “And I think it would be wise to check up on her.”

“Why?” Mabel met Bill’s eyes anxiously.

“Nothing bad,” Bill patted Mabel’s back, “Just… just in case. She's wasn't on the list, but she might need our help with something. You never know.”

 

“Okay, right, let's go,” Mabel grabbed the keys off the bench and began walking to the car.

Bill turned to Dipper, and found his face suspicious and untrusting.

“What?” Bill asked.

“The list,” Dipper said slowly, “What list, exactly?”

Bill paused, glancing after Mabel, “I'll tell you in the car, yeah?”

He left for the car.

 

Dipper closed the door of the Shack, wondering what Bill meant. What list? And where had he gone last night?

Mabel turned the key in the ignition, calling for Dipper to hurry up.

As her brother climbed into the car, Mabel grinned at him.

 

“Oh, man,” Dipper groaned, “I hate it when you drive.”

“Aw, thanks,” Mabel giggled, “Bill, do you wanna explain what happened last night? And what was that about a list?”

“Oh, right,” Bill began as Mabel pulled out of the driveway, “Purgatory woke me up last night and went to that waterfall, and I found a list dropped there.”

 

Bill didn't miss Dipper's eyes narrowing slightly.

“What?” he asked as Mabel dramatically swerved, “Oh, fucking hell, Star!”

“Sorry, dude,” Mabel laughed, “What's on the list?”

“I think…” Bill hesitated, “I think it's what you guys would call a ‘hit list.’”

“Seriously?” Dipper asked, eyes disbelieving.

 

“The girl who died, her name was there, along with some other guy,” Bill gulped, “And… the last names on the list.” He paused, opting to simply hand the list to Dipper.

 

“Who is it?” Mabel asked her brother.

“It’s…” Dipper stuttered, “I-It’s us, Mabes, holy shit.”

“Jesus,” Mabel braked suddenly, sending them all flying forward, “I mean, we knew this was gonna happen. But it’s so weird.”

 

“Hang on, this has Emmeline Tally on it…” Dipper paused, “She’s the only one who hasn’t died yet, apart from us. Obviously.”

“Friend of yours?” Bill asked.

“Sort of. Wendy knows her through Tambry, and- yeah, we know Emma,” Dipper sighed.

 

“That’s good though,” Bill smiled comfortingly at them both, “It gives us an idea of who’s gonna be killed. And on the back, it has something else.”

 

Dipper turned the paper over and inspected the other side. Scribbled in pencil was a date, and  **‘EMMELINE 9PM.’**

“That’s tonight, Bill!” Dipper exclaimed, “9 o’clock tonight… is that when whoever this is is gonna try and… you know?” 

“I think so,” Bill nodded.

“So… we can save her, right?” Mabel asked, “We can tell her not to go somewhere? Or we can show up and attack whoever is doing this, yeah?”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” Bill frowned, “Hopefully it works out.”

 

Dipper gazed out the window, then glanced down to the list in his hands. They were nearly at Pacifica’s house.

The brunet couldn’t help but feel he was missing something big - no, not big,  _ huge  _ \- something that was staring him in the face and he just couldn’t see it. What was the bigger picture? What didn’t he understand?

Mabel pulled into the driveway of the Northwest Mansion.

 

☆彡

 

“Hello?” Mabel rang the doorbell again.

 

Quick footsteps, then a pause, then the door swinging open. And there stood Pacifica, in all her glory - unbrushed hair, sweatpants, tired and red eyes. It was the best thing Mabel had seen all day. 

Until she saw the red mark on Pacifica’s cheek.

 

“Paz? What happened? Why didn’t you answer my calls? And texts?” Mabel asked worriedly.

Pacifica grabbed a coat off a hook near the door and left the mansion, taking Mabel’s hand, before dropping it as they climbed into the car.

“Hey, Pacifica, how - ouch, dude,” Dipper winced as he saw her face, “What happened to you?”

“My father hit me,” Pacifica replied dully.

“What?!” Mabel exclaimed, “That  _ motherfucker _ -”

“Well, he is my father,” Pacifica grinned a little, “It’s generally what happens.”

 

“Paz, that’s not funny!” Mabel cried indignantly, before adding, “Okay, it’s a little funny, but that’s not okay! Why would he do that? Has he done it before?”

Bill and Dipper sat back, sharing an anxious glance. Knowing Mabel, Dipper thought she’d try and give Preston Northwest a piece of her mind.

 

“No, he’s never done it before,” Pacifica shrugged, “I guess it has something to do with the fact that he somehow found out I’m not straight.” The blonde stared straight out of the windshield of the car, refusing to make eye contact with her girlfriend.

“How- how could anyone  _ possibly  _ know?” Mabel gestured wildly, “How the fuck-”

“The girls at the bowling alley,” Dipper and Pacifica whispered in unison, Dipper’s tone shocked, while Pacifica’s remained numb.

“Fuck,” Bill raised his eyebrows.

 

“Anyway, surely there’s something interesting happening with you guys?” Pacifica attempted to appear interested.

“Well, actually, we know that someone’s gonna die,” Dipper shrugged.

Pacifica put her head in her hands, laughing.

“Just your average day with my glittery girlfriend, her nerdy twin brother, and his literal, actual _demon_ boyfriend,” she giggled, and the rest of the car joined in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everything is coming together!!!! stay tuned for more adventures with the fantastic four + various sidekicks


	13. celebration preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find Emma. Bill is a magical love-struck dork. Pacifica is a rich love-struck dork. Mabel is a shiny love-struck dork. Dipper is a nerdy love-struck dork. Wendy is a good bro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is really domestic and i regret none of it. i actually really like dragging things out a little and putting more detail in, as well as giving myself a break from all the angsty things. there's only a smidge of angst in here.

_love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes,_

_and we keep loving anyway, we laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes,_

_and if there’s a reason i’m by her side when so many have tried,_

_then i’m willing to wait for it,_

_i’m willing to wait for it…_

 

☆彡

 

“Emma!” Mabel yelled.

 

It was around 4:30 in the afternoon when they tracked her down. It had taken them a while, but they’d managed it. And now they had no idea what to do.

 

“Mabel?” Asked the black-haired girl.

“Hey,” Mabel smiled, before stepping back and gesturing to Bill and Pacifica, “That’s Bill, and that’s Pacifica, and obviously my brother. We were just wondering… what your plans were for tonight?”

“Uh…” the girl, Emmeline, frowned.

“It’s just…” Mabel flailed.

 

“We’re having a party at the Shack while Stan and Ford are out. Bit of a dick move, I know, but it’s gonna be sick,” Bill tried to sound ‘cool,’ and Dipper internally face-palmed.

Surprisingly, Emma seemed to buy it.

“Will Wendy and Tambry be there?” She asked hopefully.

“Yeah, totally,” Mabel nodded, “Well, I’m not sure about Tambry, but Wendy definitely will.”

 

“Sure, then,” Emma smiled, “What time is it?”

Mabel hesitated, before replying: “8:30. Try and get there around that time though, we really want to see how many people there are, and you don’t wanna miss anything.”

“Cool, see you then,” Emma waved, turning away.

“Wait!” Mabel called, “One more thing, sorry, if you wouldn’t mind telling some of your friends about it? It was a bit last minute and we haven’t got around to telling everyone.”

 

“Sure thing,” Emma smirked, “Bye.”

Dipper shot a text off to Wendy.

 

☆彡

 

**Hey, party at the shack tonight. Starts 8:30. Bring all**

**your friends, spread the word. BE THERE ON TIME.**

 

**dude are you sure**

**like, really? with everything that’s going on?**

 

**Trust me, please**

 

**OH**

**IS THIS PART OF A PLAN**

**TELL ME**

 

**Just come to the damn party**

 

☆彡

 

When 8:30 rolled around, Mabel had somehow got most of the teens in Gravity Falls to come to their impromptu party. That girl was just a _genius._

 

“Paz, if you don’t wanna go home, you can borrow some of my clothes?” Mabel suggested.

Her girlfriend blushed, “Okay, I guess… I can probably just wear this.”

Mabel raised her eyebrows at Pacifica’s winter coat and sweatpants, and got a sigh in return.

“Fine, you’re right,” Pacifica rolled her eyes, “Give me a sweet makeover.”

 

Mabel giggled, gesturing for Pacifica to follow her up the stairs. Bill caught Pacifica’s eye from where he was hanging a balloon, before winking and giving the girl a thumbs up.

Pacifica rolled her eyes. This was just Mabel giving her some clothes.

 

☆彡

 

Pacifica slid the top over her head, then grabbed the jacket Mabel handed her.

Mabel blushed.

“What?” Pacifica asked, glancing down.

“Nothing, I just- you look. Nice. You look really good. In my clothes,” Mabel giggled.

Pacifica rolled her eyes. “Okay, honey, whatever you say.”

 

“You do!” Mabel insisted, “You should do this more often.”

“Sneak out of my house and steal your clothes before a party to stop some girl dying?” Pacifica laughed.

“Yes. Well, not that exactly. What do you mean, sneak out?” Mabel asked.

“I wasn’t supposed to leave. My parents went out to get something before you came… so. I’m really gonna get an earful when I come home,” Pacifica sighed, “Or a faceful.”

 

“Paz, I’m really sorry about that,” Mabel grimaced, “I really, really am…”

“I’m fine, honestly,” Pacifica smiled bravely, “It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

“It doesn’t hurt. Until you think about it,” Mabel trailed off.

 

Pacifica stilled. She knew Mabel was talking about herself now. That wasn’t good.

“Hey,” Pacifica placed a hand on Mabel’s arm.

“Sorry, skirts! Or do you want jeans?” Mabel asked hurriedly.

“Uh, jeans maybe?” Pacifica contemplated.

“Okay. Good choice. Solid, solid choice,” Mabel drifted off, searching through one of her drawers.

 

“Thanks,” Pacifica whispered.

“For what?” Mabel asked, holding up a pair of jeans.

“For _this,_ for being so… so you!” Pacifica smiled, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Mabel beamed.

 

Pacifica pressed her lips against Mabel’s cheek.

“This party is gonna be fun. Even though we have to watch Emma the entire time,” Pacifica turned away, as did Mabel, and the blonde pulled off her tracksuit pants and replaced them with Mabel’s jeans.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Mabel laughed, before blushing as Pacifica trailed her arms around Mabel’s midsection.

“Well, we still have a bit of time…” Pacifica giggled into Mabel’s ear.

“Mhm,” Mabel sighed, “We should probably help the boys with decorating.”

 

“Didn’t you see Bill wink at me?” Pacifica asked, “I don’t think he expects down there any time soon.”

“Well, okay,” Mabel sighed, smiling, and turning to face her girlfriend, their lips meeting.

 

☆彡

 

While Mabel and Pacifica were ‘practicing’ upstairs, Bill was actually practicing downstairs.

 

Stone. Gold. Wire. Water. Wood. Flames. Glass. Bill tried the movement again as Dipper watched on in awe.

The blond grabbed the lump of gold he’d just used, forcing it and the stone together. Bill closed his eyes, and the smell of burning metal filled Dipper’s nostrils. He took the opportunity to pull out his phone and record what was happening.

 

Bill held the singular grey-gold stone up to the light before grabbing the remaining wire and placing it over the rock. He closed his eyes again, frowning and concentrating intensely, and suddenly the wire lit up with a yellow-glow.

The thin metal twisted and turned around the stone in Bill’s hand, weaving itself intricately into a golden cage, which the blond placed on the table. Dipper thought it looked beautiful.

 

Bill took the cup of water that he’d used before, and poured the rest of the contents over the cage and the stone - the liquid evaporated almost instantly, hovering in a cloud above the rock, inside the thin golden prison.

Then the demon grabbed the pine needles he was using - they counted as wood, right? He held the match up to them, and they caught alight, crumbling into black dust and then rebuilding on the rock as tiny trees. They seemed to be growing out of the stone itself.

Dipper zoomed in on his phone.

 

Finally, Bill grabbed the remaining shards of glass from the other shattered tumbler and held them in his hands above the cage. The liquid glass slipped through his fingers, lacing its way between the bars of the beautiful enclosure, and pooled over the top of the small cloud, down the sides of the stone, meeting underneath, and creating a stand. The demon took a deep breath and stood back.

 

On the table rested (another) golden cage, and inside was (another) glass globe, containing a grey, misty cloud, a stone embedded with flecks of gold, and small pine trees waving in a non-existent wind.

“Did you _seriously_ film me doing that?” Bill asked, annoyed.

Dipper nodded, still inspecting the results of Bill’s exercises, and still filming the tiny trees growing out of the beautiful rock.

“I better not find that on YouTube later,” Bill growled.

 

“You won’t, don’t worry. No one would believe it anyway. God, the comments would be terrible - anyway, that was amazing! Holy shit,” Dipper’s eyes were shining.

Bill smiled at his boyfriend. Inside, the demon could feel the new power surging through him. It would have been better if he’d used human blood, but that wasn’t something he wanted to think about right now.

“So, what do you think?” Bill asked.

“It’s amazing. It’s- I don’t have words to describe how cool it is,” Dipper laughed, “Like, I have seen a _lot_ of weird shit, most of it being your fault, but that? That’s so… beautiful. It’s incredible.”

“You sound like Mabel,” Bill smiled softly, wrapping his arms around Dipper’s waist.

 

“Who sounds like me?” Mabel’s voice echoed from the stairs, followed by Pacifica’s: “Why are there two birdcages on the table?”

Bill pulled back from the embrace.

“I guess we better explain things. And get ready for the party,” Bill laughed.

Dipper buried his head in the crook of Bill’s neck, not wanting to let go.

“The party?” Dipper whined, “We have to stalk some girl for hours! Why can’t we just make out?”

“I’m sure we can fit some in,” Bill smirked, pressing his lips against the side of Dipper’s head, “But we really do have to explain things to your sister.”

 

“Are they… tiny trees?” Came Mabel’s voice.

Dipper sighed heavily.

“Yeah, Mabes. They’re tiny trees.”

 

☆彡

 

At 8 o’clock, Wendy knocked on the door.

 

“Shit,” whispered Mabel, staring at the gold cages, “Someone put them in our room? Thanks, Dip.”

She raced to the door, only to find it opening on its own.

“Oh. Hey, Wendy,” Mabel breathed a sigh of relief, before gazing behind the redhead nervously, “Did you bring friends?”

“Nah, just me for now.. are you guys ready? And why is this happening, Dipper said it was part of a plan or something-” Wendy started.

“I said nothing of the sort,” Dipper called, interrupting.

 

“Whatever,” Wendy rolled her eyes, “But come on, Mabel! You always over-organise parties. What’s going on?”

“We need to spy on someone,” Bill drawled, leaning up against a doorframe.

“Hey, Bill,” Wendy frowned, “Uh, who are you spying on?”

“Your friend Emma,” Mabel laughed at Wendy’s scared expression.

“Why?” Wendy asked anxiously, before narrowing her eyes at Bill, “Did you do something?”

“No,” Bill huffed, “But I found something. A list-”

“A _hit list,_ ” Mabel interrupted.

 

“A **_hit list?_ ** ” Wendy shrieked, “What?!”

“Anyway, Emma’s on it. Enough said, I think,” Bill wandered back into the kitchen, staring at Dipper’s ass as his boyfriend stood on a chair hanging streamers.

“I’m so confused right now,” Wendy stated.

“Get used to it,” Dipper sighed, before complaining to Pacifica, “I don’t know why she makes me do this. The streamers and everything. She always goes overboard.”

 

“Yeah,” Pacifica replied, glancing at Mabel who was grabbing plastic cups and soda, then glancing at Bill, whose eyes were still on Dipper’s butt, “It’s part of her charm. Also, your demon boyfriend is staring at your ass.”

Dipper turned his head and shot Bill a look, getting a shrug in return.

“Guilty as charged,” Bill agreed, “Do you need any help with food and stuff, Star?”

 

“Thanks, Bill,” Mabel replied, “But I think I’ve got everything? Except…”

“Except what?” Pacifica and Wendy asked in unison, before grinning at each other.

“Alcohol?” Mabel winced.

“Seriously? You want to have alcohol at a party in the Shack, while someone’s trying to kill you guys and Emma, and Ford is missing, and Stan’s in the hospital. And you’re all underage. Seriously?” Wendy raised her eyebrows incredulously.

“It’s Bill’s fault,” Dipper accused, climbing down from the chair and folding his arms, “A last minute party that’s gonna be ‘sick?’”

Bill groaned, “I said I was sorry! It was the only thing I could think of!”

 

“You sound like fucking Dippy Fresh,” Dipper mumbled, and Mabel lit up.

“ _Dippy Fresh!_ ” She giggled, “I forgot about him, holy shit, he was great!”

“He was a neon nineties-kid version of me. How is that great?” Dipper asked, annoyed.

“How i _sn’t_ it great?” Wendy laughed.

“I hate all of you,” Dipper glared, “Except Pacifica. I don’t hate her as much.”

“Aw,” Pacifica smiled, “Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! also, congratulations to france for macron's victory! i hope he does well.


	14. crashing down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening. No one likes these things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about not updating for a while. mental health has not been tip-top but eh. here you go. hope you enjoy.

_ i know it’s mad, but if i go to hell will you come with me or just leave? _

_ i know it’s mad, but if the world were ending would you kiss me or just leave me? _

_ just leave me.... _

 

☆彡

 

Mabel stood at the door, greeting people as they came in. 

Somehow, Bill had managed to make some reasonably okay tequila (using magic), and some of Emma’s friends had brought beers. 

“You guys are all 18, right?” One of them asked Dipper, gesturing around.

“Yeah,” Dipper nodded.

“Good enough for me,” the guy shrugged, handing Dipper a bottle, which he gingerly placed on the kitchen bench he was leaning on.

 

“Not drinking?” Bill asked.

“I am  _ technically _ underage,” Dipper raised his eyebrow, “And besides, we’re supposed to be watching Emma.”

Bill rolled his eyes, smirking, but let his gaze drift back to the dark-haired girl talking to Wendy. Suddenly, someone nudged his shoulder, and Mabel’s bright eyes stared up at him.

“Wendy’s certainly keeping a  _ close eye on her, _ ” Mabel winked sloppily, plastic cup of tequila in her hand.

“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Dipper grabbed the cup, setting it down next to his discarded beer.

 

“Whaaat?” Mabel droned, “You’re so mean, Dipper.”

“I swear to God, you’re going to get arrested one day,” Dipper shook his head, before looking back at Wendy and Emma dancing.

“Are they  _ really  _ flirting?” Bill said distastefully, “That girl could literally die any minute now.”

“I thought you put wards on her!” Dipper exclaimed, drawing some weird looks.

“I did!” Bill replied, “But, you never know.”

 

“Are you actually telling me that some girl could drop dead on my great-uncle’s carpet?” Dipper said, turning white as a sheet.

Bill shook his head. “No, from what we’ve seen already, I think someone will actually have to kill her…” he trailed off, mumbling something Dipper didn’t catch.

“What was that?” The brunet asked.

“Or possess her,” Bill sighed, “Kill her or possess her.”

“Well… then we just have to watch for anything weird, right?” Dipper asked anxiously.

“Yeah,” Bill nodded supportively. The demon felt sick to his stomach - they hadn’t thought this through enough, and now someone could die.  _ Shit. _

 

“Yoooo,” Mabel giggled, “Hic- get it, Wendy!”

Dipper looked over to Wendy and Emma, seeing that the redhead was leading the other girl away.

“Dammit,” Dipper growled, grabbing the cup behind him and downing the rest of Mabel’s tequila before storming after the pair, “This was  _ not  _ the plan.”

Mabel looked sadly at the empty cup, then up at Bill with tears in her eyes.

“He drunk my- hic! He drunk my tequila,” she murmured sadly.

Bill sighed.

 

☆彡

 

“Wendy!” Dipper yelled.

 

The redhead glanced up at him.

“Yo, Emma is  _ great _ , dude,” Wendy began.

“Yeah, that’s nice to know, where is she?” Dipper asked impatiently.

“In the bathroom,” Wendy jerked her thumb towards the closed door.

“Is she okay?” Dipper asked.

“I think so, why?” Wendy asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

 

“We spoke about this. Emma is in  _ danger,”  _ Dipper explained firmly, reaching up a hand to knock on the wood, “Hey, Emma, are you okay?”

There was no reply.

Wendy’s eyes widened before she whispered, “I forgot about all that. Jesus.”

“Emma?!” Dipper asked, slightly more panicked.

A noise through the wood. Dipper couldn’t tell what it was, but it meant that Emma wasn’t dead, right?

 

“Okay, I’m gonna send Wendy in, okay?” He paused, before turning to Wendy and stepping back from the door, “Make sure she’s alright.”

Wendy swung the bathroom door open, peering in. Dipper turned away.

Wendy screamed.

 

A figure, completely dressed in black, darted past Dipper, forcing their way through the crowd. Dipper almost raced after them, but instead he crouched down next to Wendy’s body.The redhead was splayed on the floor, knocked out cold. Dipper felt for a pulse at her neck - it was faint, but it was there. He heaved a sigh of relief.

A circle of guests had crowded around the pair, questions cutting into Dipper like shattered glass. 

 

“Mabel,” Dipper called out to his sister, trying to keeping his voice steady, “Can you get everyone out? And call an ambulance?”

“Yeah, okay,” Mabel nodded, eyes wide. She dialled 911 as Pacifica shooed the guests out of the house.

“Nate and Lee are both passed out on the couch already,” Pacifica smiled slightly, “Looks like they finally got together though. Everyone else is out.”

“Wh- uh,” Dipper swallowed, looking around, “Where’s Bill?” His mouth felt dry.

 

“He ran after whoever that was,” Pacifica knelt down and looked over Wendy, noticing a trickle of blood running from her forehead. “Get those bandages, wherever they are. She was hit pretty hard.”

Dipper nodded, attempting to stand, but his knees were weak and he sunk down again. Pacifica gave him a once over, noticing his white face and heavy breathing.

“Nevermind,” she sighed, getting up to find the bandages, “Remember to breathe, okay?”

 

Dipper shuddered, trying to get more oxygen to his lungs. After everything they went through… He pushed the bathroom door open a little, it having swung shut in the commotion, and he felt a wave of nausea overwhelm him.

Emma’s body was lying there, blood pooling underneath her. Her bra was still on, but her shirt was gone, and a heel had fallen off. Her eyes were blank, staring at the ceiling - Dipper was going to throw up.

 

But he couldn’t stand. He rolled to the side, got on all fours, and emptied his stomach all over the floor.

“Woah, Dip! Are you alright?” Mabel rushed towards him, a paramedic at her side. More and more people came in, climbing over him, people everywhere, checking things and asking things and there were sirens and Dipper retched one more time before everything went black.

 

☆彡

 

He woke up hours and hours later to the sound of cursing.

 

“Uh… Bill?” Dipper rubbed at his eyes as he watched as the demon paced around the kitchen. Dipper was standing on the stairs, still tired.

Bill didn't seem to hear him.

 

“You fucking knew! You knew this would happen,” Bill’s tone changed from angry to pleading, “Tell me you didn't know, too. Tell me you  _ both _ didn't know.”

There was a slight pause before Bill resumed his shouting match, seemingly with himself.

“For once, I thought we were working on something here! If not trust, at least some sort of  _ respect!  _ But no, you're both just manipulative dicks who deserve to rot!”

 

A light tap on Dipper’s shoulder made him jump a little. Mabel gestured for Dipper to come upstairs again, a finger on her lips.

Dipper followed, tiptoeing up to the attic, his sister leading the way.

 

☆彡

 

Pacifica, Candy, and Grenda all sat on the floor. 

 

Candy and Grenda both had blankets wrapped around them. Pacifica had her legs crossed elegantly, looking like some sort of immaculate private school kid. Dipper sat down between Grenda and Pacifica, stretching out his legs and lying down on the cold, hard, wooden floor.

“Are you feeling okay, Dipper?” Candy asked.

Dipper made some sort of sound of indecision.

 

“Same, honestly, bro,” Mabel giggled, still standing.

“Sit down, love,” Pacifica patted the floor next to her.

Mabel shrugged, “Mmkay,” she kneeled down, resting her head on Pacifica’s shoulders.

Candy and Grenda smiled in unison.

“You two are so cute!” Grenda complimented.

 

“Thanks, Grenda,” Pacifica said tiredly, “Someone should probably explain to Dipper why his boyfriend is screaming downstairs.”

“Yeah,” mumbled Dipper, “That'd be nice.”

Candy rolled her eyes, “I don't know what's going on with him anymore.”

“He's arguing with himself,” Mabel explained, “Apparently it was Purgatory who left that note in the cave.”

 

“Oh, great,” Dipper groaned.

“So, Bill’s mad,” Pacifica continued, “And yeah.”

“I can't believe she's dead. Even after what we did,” Dipper’s mouth felt dry, “Is Wendy…?”

“She's okay, she's at home now…” Mabel paused, “Dipper, the cops said... there's something on her back...” She curled into Pacifica’s jumper.

 

“No,” Dipper sat up a little too quickly, wincing at the pain in his head before snapping his attention back to Mabel, “You’re not serious.”

Pacifica caught his eye, an imperceptible shake of her head.  _ Don't make this worse,  _ said the gesture.

“I just… I’m wondering if that girl in the accident, if the same thing happened to her somehow, I’m just so confused…” Mabel sighed, curling into a ball and tipping onto the floor, “I feel like a puddle of tears and screwed up paper. Does that even make sense?”

“Yeah, I guess? Well, you’re not making any less sense than usual,” Dipper lay his head back down, feeling the cold wood on his back. it was nice up here, even though it was where Purgatory had possessed him…

_ ‘I’ve seen too much blood lately…’  _ Dipper thought,  _ ‘Bill’s eye, Stan, and now this…’ _

 

Footsteps rushing up the stairs.

BANG!

 

Bill flew into the room, swinging the door open forcefully.

“Oh,” he paused, seeing the delicate and tired scene, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Should we leave?” Candy asked.

“Nah, you guys can stay,” Mabel vaguely waved her hand at them before looking up at Bill, “Right?”

“Uh…” Bill awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, “Sure, I guess.” He sat down behind Dipper’s head, lifting it up and shuffling forward, resting it in his lap. As he sifted his fingers through Dipper’s hair, his boyfriend glanced up at him.

 

“So, sounds like things got a little heated between you and Purgatory,” the brunette stated.

“Ugh,” Bill groaned, “How much did you hear?”

“Pretty much all of it,” Pacifica rolled her eyes, “All of your side, anyway.”

“Oops,” Bill shrugged, “Sometimes I just can't keep it in sometimes, y’know?”

“Yeah, trust me, I know,” Mabel grimaced.

“Come on, I apologised!” Bill exclaimed as Dipper facepalmed, “I didn't realise how loud I was being!”

 

“I  _ don't  _ want to hear about this,” Grenda laughed.

“I kinda do, but I'm going to ignore that,” Candy mused, drawing laughs from everyone, even a weak chuckle from Mabel.

“So, we're all looking pretty down. Is this just because of what happened, or?” Bill phrased it as a question.

“Dip?” Mabel asked.

“You want me to tell him?” Dipper asked, receiving a nod.

 

Dipper took a deep breath.

“Mabel has scars, these weird markings that that guy left on her. She could have died, from them. Emma and possibly that girl who died in the car crash, and maybe even that other guy on the list, Oliver, have the same marks,” Dipper explained.

“So… the guy who, who hurt Mabel, he's still out here? He's who’s behind this? That's what this means, right?” Grenda frowned.

 

“Fuck,” Dipper said, closing his eyes, “I don't understand! That guy is in  _ prison.  _ He couldn't have escaped!”

“I think-” Bill began before he was cut off by Pacifica.

“They have to tell you if he's escaped, right?” She asked.

“Guys-” Bill tried again.

“Actually, they have to tell your parents, I think,” Mabel paused, “Surely mom would tell me… wouldn't she?”

“I don't know,” Dipper sighed tiredly, “I can't believe Purgatory led us on this fucking goose chase. He knew we couldn’t stop this, right, Bill?” 

 

The room looked towards the demon.

“Well, yeah. But guys, there's something I need to tell you,” he looked at the floor.

 

☆彡

 

Bill stared down at the photocopying machine. It still looked like a normal photocopier, but everyone knew what it could do.

“I still can't believe you cloned yourself to get a date,” Pacifica deadpanned.

“Shut up,” Dipper growled, “Why are we here, Bill? What does the photocopier- wait.” Dipper stopped, staring straight at the demon.

“Seriously?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” Bill nodded, “I think whoever did this is a clone…”

“But that- that  _ doesn’t  _ make any sense, Bill,” Dipper stated firmly, “The clones can't drink anything. They're made of paper! Someone would have noticed by now if the guy in jail was a clone!”

“Uh… I think whoever printed them didn't use ink… or even paper,” Mabel pointed to a spot on the printer.

“What- oh,” Candy swallowed, seeing the red smudge of blood, “Oh. That's disgusting. What did they print on?”

“Skin,” Bill said casually, drawing scandalised looks from the others, “What? There's a demon in me who made a sofa out of the stuff once.”

 

“Okay,” Dipper nodded, breathing deeply, “Okay. This is gonna be okay. So… who did this? And how the fuck did they get into our house?” 

“They… didn't break in,” Bill winced.

“What do you mean?” Pacifica asked, scared.

“I know who it is. Who’s behind this,” Bill said.

Dipper opened his mouth, expression angry.

“So do I,” Mabel sighed.

“What?” Bill, Dipper, and Pacifica’s head’s turned towards Mabel. Candy and Grenda shared a look, shrugging.

 

“I had a dream a couple of nights back. It started out as a nightmare, about… you know,” Mabel stared at the ceiling, pausing, “But then I heard this voice. It wasn't a dream, it was a memory. I’d never remembered the voice before, but I knew it was real.” 

She stopped, seeing everyone still staring expectantly at her.

“The more I thought about it, the more I lost the memory. So I forgot about it for a while. And then I had the same dream - that's when I realised who's voice it was,” she paused again. 

_ ‘Am I really going to say this?’  _ She thought.

“Mabel, please,” Pacifica begged, “We know this is hard for you, but if you know who it is, you need to tell us…”

 

“She doesn't  _ have  _ to say it,” Bill mumbled, “It’s Ford.”

Dipper sighed heavily, “For some reason, that honestly doesn't come as much of a shock. I sort of had a feeling… I didn't want to listen to it, thought.”

Grenda gingerly patted Dipper on the back.

“But how long did  _ you _ know?” Dipper accused, prodding Bill’s chest with his index finger.

“Uh… only since that yelling match with Purgatory and Heaven? Those assholes? Like 10 minutes ago?” Bill stated hesitantly.

 

“You're a fucking  _ liar,  _ Bill Cipher! You've known since Heaven had control and talked to me! You knew when you beat it out of Purgatory! Why didn’t you tell us?” Dipper shouted.

“Oh, I have, have I?” Bill countered, “If you’ve known that the whole time, why didn’t you ask sooner?”

“Because that would mean I thought it could be Ford! I didn’t want to admit that! What if I’d been wrong? I’ve made too many assumptions about Stan in the past, and I’ve  _ always _ been wrong!” Dipper steeled his jaw.

“What’s the difference between me and her?” Bill asked defiantly, gesturing at Mabel, before adding, “No offence or anything, Shooting Star.”

 

“It’s cool,” Mabel shrugged, “Continue with your domestic.”

“This is  _ serious,  _ Mabel!” Dipper exclaimed, “Bill should have told us the moment he knew anything-”

“Dipper-” Mabel started.

“No, fuck this,” Bill scowled, storming towards the door, “I never should have tried to help you in the first place.”

Dipper reached out and gripped Bill’s arm.

“Don’t touch me!” Bill yelled, and suddenly a searing hot pain was burning Dipper’s hand.

“What the fuck?” Dipper cried, pulling back.

 

Bill almost stopped, feeling something twist in his chest. Guilt.

But he didn’t. 

The demon left the room, left the Shack, and headed into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, there you go. stay tuned for next's week's episode of 'billdip relationship drama and death.'


	15. the green wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The endgame approaches, but no one knows what the endgame actually is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOO i'm so sorry about how late this is, i've been busy with a lot of shit, also procrastination, also writer's block, but i'm back now! fun fact: there will probably only be one or two chapters after this! how crazy is that?

_ i don’t know what i want, if i’m completely honest, _

_ i guess i could starts a war, i guess i could sleep on it, _

_ but hey there kids with guns... _

 

☆彡

 

“Dipper,” Pacifica scowled, “What the  _ fuck.” _

 

“What?” Dipper asked, “Bill kept things from us! If he wanted us to trust him, he should have told us!”

“Dipper, I still trust him,” Mabel stated firmly, “We need him.”

“What-” Dipper began angrily.

“No!” Pacifica yelled, “You need to realise that other people have opinions. Just because you have a death wish doesn't mean we all want to die. We need Bill.”

 

☆彡

 

“Bill?” Dipper called.

 

“Hey, Bill?!” The girls shouted. Their voices echoed through the trees.

“We should split up,” Candy mumbled. They were still on the edge of the forest, and still able to see the Shack - but none of them wanted to turn back.

“Okay, I'm thinking Dipper and Mabel, and Pacifica, Candy, and I,” Grenda paused, seeing a red-headed figure running towards them.

“Hey, guys! Where are you going?” Wendy called.

“Wendy!” Mabel exclaimed, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” The redhead smiled, “Why are you all standing here? And where's Bill?”

The group glanced at each other.

“He's in the forest,” Pacifica raised her eyebrows, “Dipper’s an idiot and scared him off.”

 

“Hey, listen-” Dipper started.

“What happened?” Wendy asked Mabel, cutting him off.

“Uh, Ford. It's Ford. Who's doing this. And… I mean, I don't know if you remember, but-” Mabel explained.

“Yeah, Emma’s dead. I remember,” Wendy sighed, “A lot of shit’s happened to you guys this month, hey?”

 

“Uh… yeah,” Dipper frowned, “Did you even hear what Mabel said?”

“That’s it’s Ford?” Wendy asked, “Yeah, I heard her. What?”

“That’s not… a shock? Or anything?” Dipper raised his eyebrows.

“Well, who else was it gonna be? I thought you guys had already figured this out!” Wendy giggled nervously, “It was obviously Ford!” Wendy broke into a manic laugh.

Instinctively, everyone in the group stepped back.

‘Something is wrong…’ Mabel thought, adrenaline rushing through her.

Wendy’s eyes flickered.

“Guys, sorry,” Bill’s voice echoed out of Wendy’s mouth, “Heaven’s being a little shit. Anyway, don’t be mad, but I had to possess Wendy. She really is perfectly healthy, and she was just coming over here…”

“Bill. Can you like… not possess her? We’d really appreciate that,” Pacifica said sarcastically.

“Ha, yeah, about that, I can’t,” Bill paused, “My body is in the forest near that stream, the one where… where, um, Purgatory took over. Someone attacked me. I can’t use my magic or anything! It’s like I’m locked in.”

“Someone attacked you?” Mabel shrieked, “Was it- it wasn’t Ford, right?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t really see anything,” Bill continued, “But you need to get me back to my body. I can’t move from Red unless I get back to it.”

“Oh,” Grenda sighed, “But you can walk, right? Just lead us to your body.”

“Brilliant. And we’ll probably get about ten feet from it before we get attacked by some giant monster,” Candy sighed.

“So, what? We need weapons?” Mabel queried.

“Yeah!” Grenda perked up, stars in her eyes.

“And where are you gonna get these weapons?” Pacifica asked.

“Well, I’m sure Red here has an axe or two. Stan would have something, for sure,” Bill rolled strands of Wendy’s long hair between his fingers, “This vessel is weird.”

Dipper began walking back to the Shack in silence.

“Where are you going, bro?” Mabel called after him.

“You want weapons? I’m sure we can dig something up,” Dipper stated, an undertone of resentment still present in his voice.

Bill watched as Mabel raced after her twin. His face fell slightly.

“So, wanna go check out Red’s house?” Bill asked, trying to put on a cheerful face.

“Sure,” Pacifica sighed, “Did she drive here? Her car is better than Dipper’s.”

“Yeah, uh, you can drive,” Bill murmured, “Come on.”

 

☆彡

 

“Is Dipper really that mad at me?” Bill-Wendy asked.

“He's pretty pissed off, yeah,” Pacifica sighed, before adding darkly, “Mabel’s already forgiven you - don't make her regret that, Cipher.”

“Yeah, mess with the twins and we’ll-” Grenda began.

“We’ll fuck you up,” Candy finished.

“Actually,” Grenda replied, surprised, “I was going to say we’d get the police involved, but that works too.”

 

“So, is this it?” Pacifica asked, “Is this the bit where we fight and stop this demon from being created?”

“I guess?” Bill-Wendy replied, “I think this is probably more about stopping another demon from entering this dimension. It's possible that Ford’s been possessed, but it's also possible that he's just a bit… unhinged, at the moment.”

“Unhinged?” Pacifica scoffed, making a turn, “That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think? He  _ attacked  _ his own twin. Surely he’s possessed.”

 

“I really don't think he is, for some reason,” Bill mused, “These attacks are very organised, one of the bodies hasn't been found, it's very clean - no suspicion, apart from us. It doesn't have that demonic vibe. It's very human.”

“That's unsettling,” Candy mumbled as they pulled into Wendy’s driveway.

 

☆彡

 

“Aight, we’ve got some weapons,” Mabel said proudly, “Did you guys find - where’s Bill?” 

 

Dipper felt something tug anxiously in his stomach. But he wasn't worried about Bill, no, not at all.

“Something happened,” Grenda sighed.

“He was possessing Wendy, and then he wasn't!” Candy gestured wildly.

“Is Wendy okay?” Mabel asked, and suddenly Dipper snapped.

“Is  _ Wendy  _ okay? Bill’s a demon! He doesn’t just stop possessing people, something really bad must have happened, you should be asking if  _ he’s _ alright!” Dipper glanced around to see everyone staring at him with knowing expressions.

“What?” He asked.

Mabel snickered, “You got it bad, bro. I’m sure Bill’s fine, we’ll look for his body soon. Is Wendy at home?”

“Yeah, she’s asleep. Let’s go,” Pacifica grabbed Mabel’s hand.

 

☆彡

 

Dipper could hardly breathe when he saw Bill’s body lying in the stream, draped uncomfortably over the rocks. There was a cut on his forehead, blood snaking out of it and swirling into the water.

 

“Bill!” Dipper yelled, running to the blond’s side, lifting his body up slightly. Bill’s eyes flickered open - still yellow, Dipper noted, which was good - and the demon spluttered, pale red water flying out of his mouth.

“Is he alright?” Mabel asked, rushing to Dipper’s side.

“Does he have a concussion?” Pacifica frowned down at the trio.

“P-pine tree, you- you can’t be here, you need to get out,” Bill breathed, “They’re coming…”

“Who’s coming?” Dipper asked, framing Bill’s face with his hands, “Bill, can you stand?”

“Dipper, I don’t know what’s happening, b-but you need to run! Go!” Bill cried, legs shaking as Dipper attempted to stand.

“Okay, we’ll go,” Dipper said emphatically, “Come on, let’s get you home-”

“No, you have to leave me here, just- trust me, okay?” Bill asked.

 

“Bill, we’re not leaving you here,” Mabel jumped in, “We need you.  _ Dipper  _ needs you!”

“You are aware of- of how cheesy that is, right?” Bill smirked, wincing in pain.

“Bill, if we leave you here, you’ll die,” Pacifica told the demon.

“I have a plan, a-and the plan, to work, requires that you leave me here,  _ now,”  _ Bill glared.

Mabel paused, “Are you sure that this ‘plan’ will work?”

Bill swallowed. “Not exactly,” he admitted, “But it’s currently your best shot.”

“Okay,” Pacifica nodded firmly, “Guys, let’s go. Bill, let us know what to do when this is over, whatever  _ this _ is.” Everyone began to stride quickly back the way they had came.

 

“Wait,” Dipper called, glancing at Bill, still bleeding, still unable to stand, “Bill, this plan you have… you’re gonna- you’re gonna die, aren’t you?”

Instead of looking shocked, or even sad, Bill just looked resigned. “I have to do this if you actually want to stay alive, Dipper.”

“We’ll help you, we’ll stay here and fight, we- we even brought weapons, Bill,” Dipper’s voice cracked as a tear leaked out of his eye, and he angrily rubbed at it with his free hand.

“They won’t be enough, your primitive human weapons,” Bill scoffed, pushing off Dipper and standing on his own (with difficulty), “You don’t understand, Dipper, if you don’t leave now, we’re all dead!”

Suddenly, a low growl came from the shadows.

_ ‘Shit,’  _ Dipper thought.

 

The wolf was smaller than the huge one Purgatory had transformed into, but it was still incredibly fucking scary. The green eyes didn’t help either.

Wait. Green?

One by one, more and more green-tinged wolves emerged from the trees, their almost radioactive-looking eyes backing their group into the centre of the clearing.

And then, from seemingly everywhere at once, was the voice of one Stanford Pines.

 

“Oh, look… the whole gang’s here,” Ford’s voice was slower, more deliberate, “How sweet.”

“Hey, Sixer… how you been,” Bill began as a figure made its way towards the 5 teens (plus one demon). But Ford turned to Dipper with an ice-cold gaze.

“Hello, Dipper. I feel I owe you an explanation,” his eyes drifted to Mabel, “And an apology.”

 

☆彡

 

Dipper swore the wind stops when Ford started explaining everything.

“Dipper, this demon, he’s different to Bill. He doesn’t want to take over the world, he wants to make it better! He says he can cure everything, that he can bring back everyone who needs to die for him to rise! He’s- he’s going to fix everything. Your head…” Ford pointed to Dipper, then directed the gesture at Mabel, “And yours. He’ll get rid of the memories, he’ll get rid of the scars - everything!”

“Ford, surely you don’t believe that he’ll fix things. He wants the same thing that-” Bill stopped himself from saying ‘Purgatory’, reminding himself that Ford doesn’t know about that, “That I wanted, all those years ago.”

“No, Cipher, he’s  _ different  _ to you! I don’t know how you managed to get my niece and nephew on your side, but they won’t be for long. Samael is humanity’s saviour…” Ford continued to drone on and on as Bill’s hand darted out to grab Dipper’s.

**_‘Can you hear me?’_ **

Dipper’s eyes widened.

 

_ ‘Bill? Is that you? What are you doing?’ _

**_‘Communicating telepathically, duh.’_ **

_ ‘Obviously. Uh… how?’ _

**_‘With skill. Listen, I have a plan. An actual one this time. But you need to distract Ford for me.’_ **

_ ‘Uh… okay? What do I have to do?’ _

**_‘Just talk to him.’_ **

 

Bill’s hand dropped away. ‘Just talk,’ hey? That seemed simple enough.

But Dipper was worried. The last time he hadn’t believed on of his uncles, things had gone very wrong. He wanted, so badly wanted, to make the right decision this time around.

“Uncle Ford?” Dipper found himself saying, interrupting Ford’s prattling on.

“This Samael, when did he first… make contact?” Dipper asked, stepping forward slightly, as if he trusted his great-uncle.

“Well, when I started rebuilding parts of the portal! It was Samael who showed me how, he showed me the way!” Ford grinned.

“You were there,” Mabel said quietly, and of course, how could Dipper forget? She remembered Ford’s voice…

“I’m sorry?” Ford asked.

“You were  _ there,  _ Grunkle Ford, I  _ remember your voice!”  _ Mabel said firmly, convincingly, and Dipper was sure now. He didn’t want to admit it, but he trusted Bill more than whoever was standing in front of them (no matter what anyone said, that wasn’t his great-uncle anymore).

 

“W-well,” Ford stuttered, “He didn’t do what I told him to do. He was a defect - he was supposed to observe, simply watch over you-”

“So… you sent someone to  _ stalk  _ me?!” Mabel cried incredulously.

“Not exactly, I just…” Oh man, Dipper was looking forward to Ford trying to explain that one away. But whatever Bill’s plan was, Dipper wished he’d get on with it. The green wolves were getting a little too close for comfort.

 

☆彡

 

“Hey, if you guys want to redeem yourselves,” Bill called to the darkness of his subconscious, “Now would be a good time.”

Bill heard Purgatory’s resonating growl from the shadows. 

“Need I remind you that if I die, we all die?” Bill scowled.

That shut Purgatory up.

Two nods from two heads in Bill’s own brain was all he needed. He felt the energy surge through him as he opened his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, let me know if this was a little hard to swallow. it took a couple of tries for me to get back into the writing zone, so it may seem a bit stilted.  
> i hope you don't hate it, at least. comments and/or kudos???? are appreciated a lot. especially comments. they make my day :)


	16. mail me to piedmont

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a funny thing, grief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHIT FAM  
> THIS IS THE SECOND LAST CHAPTER I'M PRETTY SURE (maybe there'll be an epilogue)  
> HOOOOOOLY SHIT  
> anyways have this piece of practically unedited shit! i've been working on this for a while and i'd really appreciate if y'all left some kudos/comments! also my mental health is very unstable and i'm not really sure what i'm doing with my life but heeeeere we go for the home run let's do this

_death doesn't discriminate,_

_between the sinners and the saints,_

_it takes and it takes and it takes..._

 

☆彡

 

Bill couldn't believe that Purgatory and Heaven didn't realise that they needed him to survive this. Those dumb fucks.

Although, he supposed, they _were_ him, in a way. Wasn't that the point?

Those specific thoughts rushed through Bill’s brain incredibly quickly, along with other musings, such as “HOLY SHIT OK,” and “Am I still bleeding?”

Bill opened his eye- _eyes,_ he was still kind of getting used to that.

He was in the mindscape.

Whose mindscape was this?

 

As he glanced around the grey landscape, he noted the wooden carvings of wolves, torches burning, and piles of dead bodies covered by translucent white sheets of material. And a lot of emeralds?

 _‘Oh,’_ Bill realised pleasantly, _‘This is Samael’s. Huh.’_

Bill reached into his mind, grabbing his consciousness and flinging it in front of him. Two figures emerged, almost copies of Bill. But where Bill wore a muddy and bloodstained hoodie and pair of jeans, Heaven wore a blue robe, his head shaved and painted with swirling blue tattoos. Purgatory wore a blood red button-up shirt, pants, and a suit jacket.

 

Bill took in the two’s appearance before glancing down at his dirty clothes.

“Ugh.”

He snapped his fingers, siphoning all the red and brown off and spinning it into a dirty sphere.

“Think fast,” Bill laughed as he directed the ball towards Heaven. The uptight azure man batted it away with disgust.

“Now is no time for your games, Hell,” Heaven scowled.

“Right,” Bill dusted himself off, _“Mind_ telling me why we're here, boys? Or, actually, how?”

 

“Did,” Purgatory paused, “Did you just make a pun?”

Bill shrugged, before asking, “So, this is Samael’s, right? Where is everyone?”

“They should be in this area,” Heaven’s light accent was more noticeable here, Bill found. Interesting.

“I don't see them,” Bill glanced around as Purgatory took a huge sniff of the air.

The man in red padded over to one of the piles of dead bodies, lifting the white sheet slightly.

“Dude, gross,” Bill made a face, before stepping back in shock as the pile moved slightly.

 

“Thought so,” Purgatory raised an eyebrow, and then an arm, magically lifting some of the bodies into the air and revealing a very confused Dipper.

The brunet frowned, quickly climbing, disgusted, out of the stack of humans.

And then he was standing in front of Bill.

Bill thought he should say something. Should he say something? What should he say?

Suddenly, Dipper's lips were on his. The kiss had heat, definitely, but it was quick. Bill rested his forehead against his boyfriend’s, entwining their fingers, kissing Dipper’s knuckles.

 

“I’m sorry,” Bill began.

“No, _I’m_ sorry. I was a dick,” Dipper apologised, “Anyway, what's going on? Is that Heaven and Purgatory?”

“Yeah,” Bill smirked, “They're all right, really. A bit misguided. Purgatory has some issues, but he's been working on them.”

Dipper’s frown deepened.

“It's cool, I get it, you can't trust them,” Bill smiled warmly.

“Do you have a plan?” Dipper asked nervously, crossing his arms and stepping back.

“Yep!” Bill answered, “We need to burn it down.”

 

“Burn it- wait, is this…” Dipper spun, taking in his surroundings, “This is the mindscape, right? Who… Samael?”

“Ding ding ding,” Bill murmured, lifting another bunch of bodies off Candy.

Mabel pushed herself out of a bunch of limbs, ignoring Heaven’s offer of assistance.

“Okay, what the fuck is going on?” She demanded.

“We're safe, for now,” Heaven stated, eyes distant. Dipper noticed that his eyes never seemed to focus, not really - they always seemed to be fixed on a point somewhere far away.

 

“For now?” Grenda asked, worried.

“It's only a matter of time before they figure out what's going on,” Bill bit his lip, “We need to destroy Samael’s mindscape, but I don't know how-”

“How did we even get here? And why is Purgatory suddenly on our side?” Pacifica gestured to the Purgatory madly.

“Don't piss him off,” Bill warned as Purgatory gave Pacifica a low growl.

 

“By the pricking of my thumbs...” came a distorted voice from behind one of the wood carvings.

The group quickly huddled together, and Bill’s eyes darted everywhere.

“I like what you've done with the place,” he huffed, waving his hands at the torches and wolves, “Very Game of Thrones.”

“I don't know what that is, but I'm glad you're enjoying my personalised decor,” a shadow drifted between two statues, and a man walked into the light of the fires.

Well, he wasn't a man, per se.

 

Samael’s eyes were white, with black crosses through them, X-marks-the-spot-style. X marks the spot where Oedipus stabbed his eyes…

“What did you do Samael? Kill your father and marry your mother?” Bill scowled.

“Hm, cocky,” Samael grinned, “And it’s _Sam,_ god, Samael sounds so _old.”_

Bill gritted his teeth. No way was he going to humanise this piece of shit. Samael was wearing a long black coat, dark pants, some sort of shirt, and… neon green Nikes? Oh, fuck _off._

 

“I admire your sass, Hell,” Samael cocked his head to one side, “But it's a risky decision. You have considerably less power than your counterparts.”

 _‘How did he get into his own mindscape? Is he a memory?’_ Dipper touched Bill’s wrist gently.

**‘No, it's different for demons. He doesn't exist in the physical realm at the moment. We have to be quick.’**

 

“They want to burn your mind,” Purgatory told Samael, earning a glare from everyone else.

“Oh, they do, do they?” Samael snickered, “That's a novelty idea. Too bad you'll all be dead.”

 

☆彡

 

The wolves were moving, and holy shit, they were all going to die. Mabel was going to die with Justin Beiber’s ‘Baby’ stuck in her head.

 

Mabel froze. She couldn't do this, she couldn't do anything. Ford had let someone hurt her, Stan was in hospital, her parents were on the other side of the country, her brother was in love with a demon, she was going to _die-_

 

It came rushing back - Mabel remembered.

“You can do anything here,” she whispered, glaring at one of the wolves. It crumbled into dust.

Mabel smiled proudly. Her weapons had gotten more sophisticated than kitten fists, but both were equally effective.

All the wooden wolves were gone.

 

“How- how did you do that? You didn't-” Samael stuttered, glancing between Mabel and Bill.

“Experience,” Mabel smiled.

“Get out of here,” Purgatory cried as the walls began to shake, Samael’s yells shaking everything, books falling from unseen shelves, _burning_ books…

Mabel frantically explained what to do to the other teens, and they spun rings of fire around Samael, engulfing him.

“You can't do this!” he shouted, sending Pacifica flying backwards.

 

“Are you okay?” Mabel asked nervously, still concentrating on Samael.

“Yeah,” Pacifica rolled her eyes, “He’s like a child having a temper tantrum.”

“Ha, yeah,” Mabel replied, before noticing that Bill and his counterparts weren't doing anything to help.

“ARE YOU THREE DONE WITH YOUR LITTLE CHAT? BECAUSE WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! WE NEED HELP!”

Mabel watched Bill turn, watched Purgatory put a hand on the blond demon’s arm. She didn't like this.

 

☆彡

 

“How can we destroy Samael’s mindscape if he doesn't have a physical body?” Bill asked concernedly.

“We…” Heaven paused, “We need to blow it up, I think.”

“I know I said that before, but… would that actually work?” Bill asked.

“Possibly,” Purgatory snarled, “But someone would have to stay behind and do it. Like Stanley did.”

“Not me,” Bill exclaimed, “I have people to protect now, I don't want to die!”

 

“Oh, yes, Hell,” Heaven rounded on him, “You've done a fabulous job of ‘protecting’ them so far!”

“Don't you pull that shit with me!” Bill exclaimed, “Please, we need a better plan-”

“I’ll do it,” Purgatory snickered, sharp teeth visible when he grinned, “But I’ll need help, if I’m gonna give Bill my magic.”

“Who said anything about you giving me your magic?” Bill asked, “And you can't be here on your own! No offence, but…”

 

“What, don't you trust me?” Purgatory smirked again.

“How are you _smiling,_ for fucks sake, if you do this you'll _die!”_ Bill yelled over Samael’s racket, “You’ll never kill, or eat, or touch anything ever again! You’ll go back to being a ghost around this stupid tiny town! Why would you want that?”

“If you want to stop Ford from doing something _incredibly_ bad,” Heaven said quietly, though clearly, “You need to get out of here _right now,_ and we both need to give you most of our magic. You have to live, Hell. We won't really _die,_ after all - we’ll just go back to before all this. And we’ll be able to actually _see_ each other this time, instead of just talking inside our own head.”

 

“No, I can't let you do that, you need your magic if you're going to do this-” Bill began.

“Only a bit,” Purgatory told him, swallowing nervously. It was the first time Bill had ever seen him scared.

“Why would you want this? Why would either of you want this?” Bill demanded.

The two hesitated.

“You know something…” Bill said slowly, eyes widening, “Something you're not telling me.”

Heaven nodded grimly, “Purgatory looked ahead, I know we're not supposed to, but… we're not there, Hell, and something might happen. Of course, we can't tell you what it is, but I can say this: you need to take our magic and _leave,_ **_now.”_ **

 

“This is what you get for fucking around with time,” Bill said bitterly, turning to see what Shooting Star was shouting about. Something about getting out? The group was doing a surprisingly good job of containing Samael’s fury - Bill was surprised they weren't all out of the mindscape yet. And all dead.

“I’m sorry,” Purgatory grabbed Bill’s arm, raising his eyes from the grey ground to meet Bill’s.

 

Bill knew he wasn't just talking about the current situation.

“Sorry doesn't change anything,” Bill shrugged him off, before adding, “But I’m sorry, too.”

“Oh, yes. My apologies,” Heaven rolled his eyes, “Get them out of here.”

 

☆彡

 

As Purgatory and Heaven took over the fiery sphere surrounding Samael (now burning with much more intensity), Bill turned to the five teens. Grenda and Candy looked scared, Pacifica and Mabel looked mad, and Dipper looked tired. More tired than Bill had ever seen him.

“How are we getting out of this mess?” Pacifica asked.

“Inception style,” Grenda raised an eyebrow at Bill’s answer, but Dipper’s eyes widened. “No, no way. Last time, there was like a door thing, why can't we-” Dipper began.

 

“This is a _demon_ mindscape, it's supposed to be practically impervious to attacks,” Bill explained, conjuring a handgun out of thin air, “It still operates on the same principles as a human mindscape, but it has more safety protocols of sorts. Including ‘trapping intruders.’”

“Then how did we even get here?” Candy asked, a question she'd been wanting the answer to for a little while.

“Fuck, don't ask me,” Bill cracked his back, jerking his head at the pair of demons behind him, “They got us here.”

 

“So, Inception-style, what does that actually-” Mabel was cut off by her girlfriend nudging her side, then looking meaningfully at the gun in Bill’s hand.

“Oh,” she realised, before looking down at the different gun that she was now holding, raising it to her temple, “I’ll just wake up in the forest, right? With Ford?”

“Yeah, hopefully your body is fine, Heaven and Purgatory probably put some wards or something around, but I should probably go fir-” Bill was cut off as Mabel screwed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger.

 

“Oh, okay,” Bill shrugged, “Come on, guys.”

“It doesn't hurt, right?” Candy looked down at her own firearm and at Mabel’s translucent, fading body.

“No,” Bill shook his head, “You just have to ‘shut down’ your control centre. It’s hard to explain to humans due to your understanding of biology and psychology.”

“Yeah, yeah, big words,” Grenda rolled her eyes, “Can someone else do it?”

“Sure,” Pacifica gulped, turning to Candy, “You too?”

“Yes, please,” Candy pleaded.

 

Pacifica squinted one eye, pulled the trigger twice, and both girls swiftly collapsed.

Dipper sank down next to where his sister’s body had been seconds ago.

“You’re pretty good with that gun,” Bill whistled, impressed.

“Thanks,” and then another loud bang, and then another fading body. The invisible shield protecting the group from the falling burning books was suddenly dented by an flaming, unusually heavy copy of _Mein Kampf._

“I can’t do this,” Dipper told Bill, pistol in his hand.

“It won’t hurt. We have to get out now,” Bill reminded him.

“Please,” Dipper whispered at the ground, “I can’t do it. You do it. Or leave me here.”

Bill hesitated.

Dipper grabbed the end of Bill’s gun, placing the barrel against his forehead.

“Please.”

 

☆彡

 

Heaven glanced at Purgatory out of the corner of his eye. His counterpart was acting strangely, but it wasn't necessarily unwelcome. Heaven wished he’d had more time to control the vessel. Maybe he’d have read more.

With a final gunshot, Heaven felt most of his magic leave him. The fire pounding Samael’s thin shield weakened considerably, and Heaven caught a glimpse of a smirk behind the flames. _Oh, no._

 

He breathed in, the copies of himself and Purgatory surrounding Samael, disorienting him.

“Copies, Samael,” one of Purgatory’s projections said with hostility, “How do you like a taste of your own medicine?”

Samael broke free of the flaming prison, savagely attacking every copy that advanced on him.

“You know how to work this, right? Two parts of the spell?” One of Purgatory’s copies asked one of Heaven’s.

“Yes, of course. One part to destroy the mindscape, one to keep us here,” Heaven’s projection raised an eyebrow, before launching himself at Samael. The clone was thrown aside with barely a flick of the wrist by the green demon.

 

“Well, let’s hope it works,” A version of Purgatory remarked with loathing.

 

☆彡

 

Bill woke up sprawled on the dirt. His head hurt… oh. Right, he’d cut it on the rocks. Right.

He sat up, dazed, and noticed that Dipper and Mabel were hugged together tightly, that Pacifica was staring at a seemingly paralysed Ford, that Grenda was crying, and that Candy was rubbing her back slowly, attempting some sort of comfort but not really knowing what to do. What a mess.

They were just _kids,_ Bill realised, scared and angry. And they were holding up so well under the incredible pressure.

 

Bill was sick of Samael ruining everything good. That demon had caused so much shit, and he was done. He was so glad it was over now. Honestly, it was easier than he’d thought it would be. Even if he had lost two thirds of himself...

As he staggered to his feet, he noticed Pacifica step back in shock.

“What-” he managed to get out, before he saw what she was looking at. Ford has opened his eyes.

His eyes had black crosses through them.

 

“You're fucking kidding,” Bill stated, irritated.

“Well, I guess I’m just going to have to kill them differently. It will be a lot quicker than I planned,” Samael-Ford giggled manically, throwing both his arms into the air, and suddenly Dipper and Mabel were suspended in the air, gasping for breath. Dipper was hanging above Candy, while Mabel was closer to Bill. Bill looked over to Dipper - there was no romantic moment of eye contact. There were no “last words.” Dipper's eyes rolled backward as he passed out.

 

“No,” Bill whispered as Samael forced both his arms downwards, sending the two teens plummeting to the ground.

Bill let everything run out of him, all his magic, all the energy he'd just been given, it all poured out of him like multicoloured light.

Mabel's body was cushioned before it hit the ground, Bill’s magic catching her and gently laying her down on the ground.

Another tendril of Bill’s magic shot through the crosses in Ford’s eyes, his entire body lighting up, before going dark.

 

And in the split second before Bill’s magic arrived, Dipper’s body hit the ground.

There was a sickening crunch, and Bill felt searing pain take over his entire body. Somehow, he still made his way over to the broken figure lying on the forest floor. Pacifica’s yells and Grenda’s loud sobs fell on deaf ears. Bill wrenched up his sleeve, running a finger over the newest black mark. The second had appeared in the middle of the night. The third appeared when he was chasing after whoever had killed Emma. And now…

 

This had all happened too fast, Bill thought. He could nearly hear Dipper’s voice telling him about hoodies and hugs and _oh, God, he was crying, tears were falling onto Dipper’s body._ This wasn't the first time Bill had cried. But this was the first time in a _long_ time that someone he'd really cared about had died.

Some part of himself felt that he should get some sort of pleasure from Dipper’s cracked bones, but all he felt inside was disbelief. He’d saved Mabel. She mattered. But Dipper… Everything would be fine. This wasn't happening.

 

Please. This _isn't-_

 

☆彡

 

_these are just flames_

_burning in your fireplace_

_i hear your voice_

_and it seems_

_as if it was all a dream_

_i wish it was all a dream_

 

_i see a world_

_a world turning in on itself_

_are we just like_

_hungry wolves howling in the night_

_i don't want no music tonight..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, so. that happened.  
> everything in this chapter will be looked at in the next one, and i swear this is nowhere near the 'end' of the story - THIS IS NOT ENDGAME Y'ALL PLEASE KEEP READING  
> love,  
> PRQ


	17. alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter, in which they all feel like shit, until they don't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY.  
> there's a suicide attempt in this, i hate how it's written (it's really bad) and i just suck. at everything. sorry.   
> stop reading at "because of what happened next" if you wanna skip that, and start again when bill says "damn it, star." if you wanna skip all the aftermath of that, skip the next two star-broken sections. :)  
> this chapter sucks, i'm not happy with the first half, i'm actually pretty happy with the second half but whatever, don't kill me.  
> enjoy

_ friend, please _

_ remove your hands from over your eyes for me… _

 

☆彡

 

Bill was staring at the ceiling, trying to sort through his thoughts. Dipper’s body had crashed to the ground, Samael had carved something into Dipper’s and Mabel’s backs. Bill had healed Mabel completely after that, leaving smooth skin - he'd never be able to heal the scars in her mind. And then, and then… what had happened next? 

Oh, right. He'd placed Dipper’s body in a case, wards all around it. It wouldn't decompose. Nothing could touch it. It was a temporary measure, of course. Bill thought. Well, as long as Shooting Star told her parents…

 

Mabel still hadn't told them that Dipper was dead. Bill didn't know if it was because she couldn't make the words come out of her mouth, or because she didn't truly believe he  _ was _ dead, or for some other reason that Bill couldn't figure out. The fact remained: she hadn't informed the Pines family of her twin’s death.

Well, she’d told Stan. She’d told him everything. He'd finally woke up - the hospital wouldn't let him leave just yet, though. 

He’d put on a brave face, said she should be strong, that miracles existed. But his eyes were empty, and Bill knew Mabel could see that. She  _ must  _ have been able to see that, because-

Because of what happened next.

 

Bill rubbed at his eyes, tears welling up. He didn't understand humans  _ that  _ well, but he understood them well enough now. He could tell: Mabel was not dealing with this in the right way.

When Bill had knocked on her door and received no response, he could have dismissed it. He knew Mabel probably wanted some time alone. But something deep in his gut, something human,  _ instinct,  _ had told him that something was very wrong.

 

He’d opened the door nervously, to find Mabel lying on her bed. Bill gave the scene a once-over - it seemed fine. But upon closer inspection, Bill caught sight of a large stack of small cardboard boxes. What the fuck?

_ ‘Ibuprofen.’ ‘Sleep Aid.’ ‘Tylenol.’ _

Shit. How many of those did she take?

Bill opened Mabel’s mouth, pressing his palms to the sides of her head, rubbing gently, before magically drawing all of the pills out of her stomach. He flicked the mess into the waste bin on the other side of the room, and took a seat on Dipper’s bed across from Mabel.

 

“Damn it, Star,” he whispered softly. The sun was setting, the orange and pink shining through the window, lighting up Mabel’s features. She really did look like her brother.

 

It was still weird when he took a look inside his soul, only to find nothing at all. Bill felt  _ empty,  _ and it wasn't even just losing Heaven and Purgatory. The slight hope that  _ maybe  _ Dipper could be resurrected,  _ maybe  _ he was still alive somehow - it was killing him. Hope was going to kill him.

Bill lay down on his back, taking one last long look at Mabel, giving her good dreams, before he closed his eyes. He fell into a sleep riddled with wolves and the horrible crunch of bone.

 

☆彡

 

That had been a few days ago. Days? Weeks? Bill didn't know.

Now, he was in ‘his’ room, and Mabel was up in her room with Pacifica. She was awake now. He’d still been asleep in her room when she woke up.

She’d sat up, her skin pale and slick with sweat, screaming her brother’s name. Then she’d thrown up a lot. Then she’d sat on the bathroom floor crying while Bill called her girlfriend. Pacifica had hardly left the Shack since then.

 

☆彡

 

“Bill, I- I saw him,” Mabel stammered, splashing water on her face.

Bill shushed her, patting her back comfortingly.

“No, you don't understand,” she turned to Bill with wild eyes, “I  _ actually  _ saw him. He explained- he said what he thought had happened,  _ listen to me!” _

“Okay!” Bill out his hands up defensively, “I’m listening.”

 

“Okay, the ritual or whatever, it was meant for two people, right?” Mabel began, continuing when she received a small nod, “Well, Dipper said that it didn't work because only  _ one of us died!” _

“Oh… Okay,” Bill frowned. He hadn't really thought about that.

“Yeah, and now he’s stuck. Somewhere,” Mabel exhaled, “I dunno where exactly, but he talked to me, Bill! We just have to figure out how to get him back in his body, right?”

 

“Mabel, you could have caused some serious damage to yourself just then… are you sure you're feeling okay?” Bill asked concernedly.

“Yes, I just- I don't know. I… don't really want to talk about it,” Mabel trailed off, looking down at the floor.

“I understand, I do. Sorta. Shouldn't you try and talk to someone? I’ll call Pacifica,” Bill pulled his phone out of his back pocket, “Medically, you’ll be fine. Magic comes in handy.”

 

Mabel sat down on the cold bathroom floor, hardly moving.

“Yeah, can you come over? Yeah, it's important. No,  _ now.  _ Yes. Okay, bye,” Bill hung up, before crouching down next to Mabel.

“It wouldn't- uh. It wouldn't have been enough to kill you, I don't think,” Bill commented unhelpfully.

Mabel buried her head in her hands, “I just wanted to see him again. And forget about everything, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Bill gave a small smile, “But, hey. Maybe you can see your brother again. We’ll figure it out.”

 

☆彡

 

And now Bill was going to go insane. How could he reach out to Dipper? Was he even there? Was that just something Mabel dreamed up? Bill wanted to believe that Pine Tree was alive, wanted to believe  _ so badly,  _ but there was a possibility that it just wasn't true.

He checked his phone - two in the afternoon. He should go outside - if he didn't, he was going to waste away in here until he was just a bag of bones.

 

☆彡

 

“Please!” He screamed, “Bring him back to me!” 

Bill yelled at the sky, falling to his knees. “Please, please! Take my eye again! Bring them back! Bring- bring  _ him _ back,” his fingers clutched at the grass, tears flowing from his face. 

 

He was silent for a moment. The sky seemed to fall down towards him, the blue too harsh for the eyes, and Bill could feel himself falling into it. “It's gonna take more than that,” the silent, imaginary voices giggled at him.

 

He took a deep breath. “You have permission to take my magic away,” he whispered, “In exchange for you bringing him back to me.”

Bill felt nothing. He cautiously clicked his fingers, and a blue flame danced on his index finger.

 

Maybe there were no gods after all. Or maybe  _ this  _ was his punishment - it was worse than being dead. He understood Shooting Star better now.

 

☆彡

 

“How am I ever going to see him again, Paz?” Mabel asked softly as her girlfriend stroked her hair, “I can't live my whole life knowing that he's  _ just there,  _ I can't!”

There was no response as Pacifica waited for Mabel to continue. But Mabel had nothing else to say. So Mabel began something else.

 

“We came here on our gap year, and we were gonna make  _ money,  _ y’know?” Mabel rolled her eyes, laughing, “We've made basically  _ none,  _ we've hardly worked at all.”

Still no response as Pacifica ran her fingers through the brown hair.

“I haven't even told my parents,” Mabel whispered, “I don't really know why. I guess part of me thinks we can still get him back?”

 

“I don't want to say this-” Pacifica began.

“Then  _ don't!”  _ Mabel exclaimed.

“Mabel, they need to know,” Pacifica leaned down and pressed a kiss to Mabel’s head, which was nestled comfortably in Pacifica’s lap.

“I know,” Mabel said sadly, “I'll call them soon.”

 

☆彡

 

Bill was walking through the forest. He knew where he was heading. He just wanted to  _ look _ , to let it sink in. Staring at Dipper's body probably wouldn't be the best thing for him right now, but this is just what he needed. He  _ needed  _ to pretend that everything was okay for a second. He needed to just talk, out loud, and pretend Dipper was fine.

 

He caught sight of the clearing ahead, noticed the small mound of dirt to the side where he’d buried Ford, and the-

“What the fuck?” Bill whispered.

The lid of the case was pushed to the ground, blood smudged along the glass. Bill’s eyes widened, and he hesitated. If Dipper was alive, was it even Dipper? What had brought him back? He couldn't look for him on his own, anyway. He owed it to Shooting Star - she had the right to know straight away.

 

Bill pulled his phone out, calling Mabel. The line was busy.

“Damn it,” he grumbled, quickly making his way back to the Shack.

 

☆彡

 

“Hey, Mom,” Mabel smiled. It was good to hear her mother’s voice.

**“Mabel! You haven't called in a few days, how are things? Have you found Ford yet? You know, he might have a touch of dementia, he probably wandered off somewhere.”**

“Uh…”

**“And how’s Dipper? He didn't respond to my text yesterday. Is everything alright?”**

“Actually, that's what I called to talk to you about…”

**“Your brother? Oh, no. What did he do this time?”**

“N-nothing, Mom. Dipper-” Mabel swallowed, and Pacifica squeezed her shoulder gently.

 

**“Are you okay, honey? What’s going on?”**

“Mom, Dipper is-”

BUMP! There was rustling and hushed voices on the end of the line.

**“Hello? Mabel?”**

“Hello! This is Dipper and Mabel’s friend, Bill. Something’s come up. I'm sure they'll think of a good excuse later! Nice to talk to you!”

**“Why- who- what’s happen-”**

 

Bill hung up the phone.

 

☆彡

 

“Yeah, see?” Bill pointed excitedly to the empty case.

“Is that blood?” Mabel asked worriedly, “Oh, man, not again…”

“I can't handle this, I’m not a fucking doctor,” Pacifica sighed.

 

“Guys, come on! Dipper’s bleeding! That means he's  _ alive!”  _ Bill smiled, turning to look at Mabel.

“Woah,” Mabel squinted at him, “Dude, your eyes aren't yellow anymore. You've got one blue one and one red one, like 3D glasses.”

“What?” Bill frowned, before a shout echoed through the forest.

 

“Dipper?” Mabel called frantically.

The trio ran towards the sound, and Bill realised what direction they were headed in. Back to where his statue was, where he’d first found himself floating after he’d ‘died.’

Man, he hated that statue. Bill ran faster, before skidding to a stop.

Dipper was lying on his stomach, blood from the cuts on his back seeping through his shirt.

“Oh, Jesus,” Pacifica panted, “I hate exercise.”

 

“Dipper, oh my god, we're gonna help, Bill will help you,” Mabel knelt down next to her brother.

“Mabel?” Dipper winced.

“Yeah, bro, it's okay, you're gonna be okay- wow, damn,” Mabel blinked as Dipper looked up at her.

“What?” Bill asked, moving his hands along the length of Dipper’s back, frowning.

“Dip, your eyes are gold…” Mabel murmured, shooting a look at Bill.

 

“Ah,” Bill realised with a sigh, “I see.”

Dipper sat up with a groan, Bill’s magic having healed him, “Oh, god. The coming back was worse than the dying.”

“I can kill you again, if you'd like,” Bill snickered.

“Nah,” Dipper exhaled, “Oh, hey. You have weird eyes.”

He promptly passed out.

 

“Is he gonna be okay?” Mabel asked as Bill awkwardly picked Dipper up, bridal style.

Bill glanced down at his very-alive, very-tired, very-attractive and also very-bloodstained boyfriend.

“Yeah,” Bill smiled, “I think he is.”

There was a pause.

“Can I get some help?” Bill asked, strained, “He’s fucking heavy.”

 

☆彡

 

“Wait, so… you don't have your magic anymore?” Dipper asked, “Then how did you heal me?”

“I still have Purgatory and Heaven’s magic! That's why my eyes are different, and why yours are yellow,” Bill explained, “I told you this already.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” Dipper shrugged, “I swear I won’t ask you to go over it again.”

“Right,” Stan paused, “Pizza?”

“Yep,” Mabel nodded, before hesitating.

“Can the other three come over?”

“Three?” Stan sighed, “Okay, whatever.”

 

“Yes,” Mabel smiled, “Someone else order pizza, I’ll call Wendy, Candy, and Grenda.”

“Not-dead party, yay,” Dipper rolled his eyes.

“You've been not-dead for like, 2 weeks,” Pacifica frowned.

“Yeah, 2 weeks - that's enough time for you to not be living in my room,” Dipper scowled as Bill dialled the pizza place.

“It's not like she’s sleeping in  _ your  _ bed,” Mabel winked, before resuming her chat with Wendy over the phone.

 

“Besides, I thought you were happy with our arrangement,” Bill raised an eyebrow at Dipper, “Yeah, hi. I'll have one margherita, one vegetarian, one supreme, one meat fanatics - yeah, meat lovers, whatever, and one… BBQ chicken. Cool. Yeah. Thanks.”

“Okay, I know I’m having pizza for dinner, but you know what I really want?” Mabel asked, hanging up her phone,  _ “Fucking Lucky Charms.” _

 

“Language,” Stan mumbled.

Everyone at the table stared at him in shock.

“I’m  _ kidding,”  _ He laughed, “Jesus christ!”

 

☆彡

 

_you teenage believers, rallied up against the fence,_   
_use weapons of clairvoyance,_   
_you adolescent strike-force against,_   
_metallic deceivers,_   
_from a planet far away,_   
_but when you read my fortune are we running home,_   
_or running free today?_

 

☆彡

 

“Hey!” Bill exclaimed happily, embracing Dipper and giving him a quick kiss.

“Gay,” Mabel giggled, throwing her arms around her girlfriend.

“How's living with Stan?” Dipper asked, grabbing his backpack out of the back out his car.

“Fucking horrible, but also great. You won't believe what happened the other day,” Bill began.

“You promised you'd text me all your escapades,” Mabel cut in, taking Pacifica’s hand.

 

“Yeah, but this one  _ has  _ to be told face-to-face,” Bill told her animatedly.

“It really does,” Pacifica agreed.

“Alright, alright,” Dipper rolled his eyes, “First, bathroom. Then food and stories. Yeah?”

“I’M GONNA BEAT YOU TO THE BATHROOM!” Mabel shouted, breaking into a run.

“You are a child,” Dipper sighed.

 

“How are you? Really?” Bill asked his boyfriend, “I know we skyped the other day, but I haven’t seen you in like, a year.”

Dipper took a deep breath, gazing around at the trees.

“I’m good. Really good,” he smiled, looking back at Bill.

“Gold is a nice colour for your eyes,” Bill smirked, before gasping, “This woman asked me about my interesting ‘heterochromia’ the other day, and I said: ‘I can assure you nothing about me is hetero.’ It was so embarrassing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! THAT'S THE END OF THE FIC! Y'ALL ARE GONNA MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIVES BUT THIS IS THE LONGEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN AND EVEN THOUGHT IT'S PRETTY BAD I'M GONNA REREAD THE WHOLE THING AND MAYBE EVEN CORRECT ERRORS AND CRY!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!  
> this fic is exactly 100 pages on google docs and if that ain't perfect idk what is  
> okay but seriously, leave kudos/comments, tell me you love me, tell me you hate me, whatever's cool. i'll try to respond to most of them unless they're particularly annoying. i love you all and while this fic is just a blip in your daily activities, it's a huge step for me and i'm allowed to be proud of it for a second. it's my lil baby.  
> PRQ out.  
> *drops mic*

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I don't know how often this will be updating, but I'll try and make it reasonably regular.  
> Also, you'll find out what Mabel's injuries (see early in the chapter) are from soon.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [america when will we end the human war?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13463736) by [penrosequartz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/penrosequartz/pseuds/penrosequartz)




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